“Silent, sheathed in ice, the ship rode the harbor,
The ring prow was ready, and rigged for the journey,
They laid out their lord, beloved by all of them.”
Beowulf, p. 8
Tough and Good
“Shield Sheafson was one, scourge of all tribes
Took a maul to the mead-benches, mangled his enemies . . .
A torrent of terror, war tested his mettle . . .
The whale-road was wide, but his warriors still crossed it.
Gold came, and glory . . . a good king that was.”
Beowulf, p. 7
Or Maybe a Lot
“As Ovid taught us long ago, Ars est celare artem. It is art to conceal the places where you jiggered it a bit.”
Beowulf, p. 4
A Real Hazard, I Mean
“I know enough Anglo-Saxon to be a hazard, but not enough to set up shop as a translator of anything so important as Beowulf. I know the words attercop, which means spider, and rimcraft, which means arithmetic, and merscmealuwe, which means marshmallow. But unfortunately, none of those words comes up in Beowulf really, and so there I am, just sitting there.”
Beowulf, p. 1
Everyday Radiance
“The parking lot was new, so the asphalt ws jet black, the yellow lines were radiant, and all the cars looked like they were covered with diamonds.”
Ride, Sally, Ride, p. 293
Which Was Pretty White
“The clerk was back at his station, whiter than one of the motel’s towels.”
Ride, Sally, Ride, p. 292
Not a Common Sight
“The traveling case was spinning around like an overweight discus, and it sailed down out of the mezzanine like a hard green plastic angel of death.”
Ride, Sally, Ride, p. 292
Or So It Seemed
“All the complaints had been filed, but the mills of the gods appeared to be jammed.”
Ride, Sally, Ride, p. 287
And He Shot the Cliche Second
“The awkwardness evaporated right after they had ordered, and Benson broke out an elephant gun in order to kill the elephant that was in the—as they say—room.”
Ride, Sally, Ride, p. 283
Which Should Have Been Anticipated
“The elevator doors opened, and he swallowed hard and smiled. She smiled also, and he fell in right away.”
Ride, Sally, Ride, p. 272