From Lawrence Block:

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A man with a clipboard never looks out of place.

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"Can you tell me what in the hell a thirty percent chance of rain means? What do I do, carry a third of an umbrella?"

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"I swear, if jumping weren't allowed she'd never get to a conclusion."

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From Margery Allingham:

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She was a sharp, vivid entity, and when one first saw her the immediate thing one realised was that it had not happened before.

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"There's someone around here to whom I take off my hat--all my hats."

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He was barely on speaking terms with himself, let alone anyone else.

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"It's no use me sitting around dressed like a parcel if company's not expected."

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He... bustled out of the room, taking an atmosphere of nervous excitement which was somehow backless and ephemeral, like a methylated spirit flame, with him.

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"That's plain speaking, isn't it?"

"Almost homely," agreed Mr Campion absently.

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"There's a word for you, Georgia my pet. You're a proper cough drop, aren't you?"