Rob

“However, the Liberals and Conservatives differed over how to combat the spread of such appalling beliefs as “equality,” “fair pay,” and “democracy.” The Conservatives believed in coming down hard on them; this involved being curt with your campesinos, keeping them illiterate, and paying them a fixed wage of 150 pesos a week. The Liberals, on the other hand, believed in being jolly with your campesinos, teaching them to read bits of paper with instructions on them, and paying them a fixed wage of 150 pesos a week.”
― Louis de Bernières, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts

“During the commute home came a dark possibility, a thought he felt trapped in the car with him. It was that he had always relied on his success to separate him from the time and people he’d manipulated to reach it.”
― Kathleen Alcott, America Was Hard To Find

“On Twitter not too long ago, I was discussing the term “dope slap,” which I had traced back (using what was available to me at the time) to Tom Magliozzi, one of the hosts of NPR’s show Car Talk. A dope slap is, as Ray Magliozzi, Tom’s brother, says, “kind of a quick slap to the back of the head when the recipient is unaware that it’s coming,” and when Tom Magliozzi first used it in a Car Talk blog post, it was clear that the dope slap got its name from the dopey target of the smack: “Well, the first thing I’d do is give that kid a dope slap for driving home after the oil light came on. When the oil light comes on, you should always stop the engine immediately.” “I scoured all my sources and found nothing earlier than that,” I said. “Which means that someone will antedate it immediately.”
― Kory Stamper, Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries

“Is it my fault they died,” she said, her eyes rooting around in his as though solace were something that could be stolen.”
― Kathleen Alcott, America Was Hard To Find