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May 2005Notable and QuotableMay 27 is a day rich in birthdays of well-known writers. Dashiell Hammett, John Cheever, and Herman Wouk, among others, share this birthday. They also share the distinction of being frequently quoted in Merriam-Webster dictionaries. See examples! Finding quotations from an author is easy. Just choose your reference—the Unabridged Dictionary or the Collegiate—and click on Advanced Search. Type the last name of the author in the Author Quoted box and click on Search. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, quotes … from Dashiell Hammett “The gambler smiled a thin, contemptuous smile.” “His face had gone a little doughy, but his voice was almost normal….” “I oughtn't to sell Max out like that. It would be utterly filthy.” “… so thoroughly mercenary, so frankly greedy, that there's nothing disagreeable about it.” “… how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be, especially if he's getting on in years.”
from John Cheever “The bus is decrepit and the seats and several of the windows are held together with friction tape.” “… sweet memories of gone summers …” “Any alteration in the ceremonies that surrounded Thanksgiving would have been considered impious and heartbreaking by my mother….” “… this gloom slashed by a few bands of bright light…” “… they were naked, unshy, beautiful, and full of grace….” “… a clatter of machinery and the piercing whinny of old valves.”
from Herman Wouk “… his cataract of eloquence suddenly lagged to a sluggish trickle…” |