From Ellery Queen's The Greek Coffin Mystery:

***

his dark vandyke pointed accusingly at the floor

[And, describing a different character within the same paragraph:]

buried in a study as deep and brown as his beard

[Who knew that brown studies showed different *degrees* of brownness!]

***

"Khalkis... said, in these exact words: 'Before you leave remind me to call Barrett's and order some new ties like the one I'm wearing'.... The verbal italicization is mine."

[I.e., the verbal italicization is Ellery's--Ellery the character, that is, not Ellery the author(s).]

***

"The best possibility is Mrs. Sloane, although it's true that there doesn't seem to be any reason why she should inform against her own husband--"
"An acute parenthesis," drawled Ellery.

***

Ellery proved himself a philosopher and went to sleep.

[I think, in the context, this means he was able to remain "philosophical" about a setback and not let it keep him up... but I like the (un?)intentional auxiliary suggestion that dozing off is typical of what philosophers do.]

***

She took a deep breath, and the smoke dribbled out of her lovely mouth like punctuation marks as she talked.

***

This was serious, and the old man's nose lengthened and his jaw snapped in a manner that boded ill for the sergeant.

[I didn't realize that becoming dissatisfied with an employee's conduct could make the nose grow! I thought it was only lying that did that!]