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unearths some literary gems.
From Slightly Perfect, by George Malcolm-Smith:
***It was the face one sometimes sees on a city street, when out of a procession of lifeless masks comes a single, isolated countenance, so personal and intimate that one catches himself on the point of greeting an utter stranger as an old acquaintance.***[Re. oversleeping]"Haven't you ever felt that the most important thing in life was just another few minutes in bed?"[Trivia: When this novel about an insurance actuary who runs away and joins a carnival was made into a Broadway show(!), "Five More Minutes in Bed" was apparently the opening production number. (:v> Note also that the actor named Bunny did *not* play the character named Bunny. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_You_with_It%3F_(musical)]***His nose was interesting, too. It was flattened at the tip, as though its owner viewed the world through a window, with his face pressed against the glass.***A pair of puzzled parentheses appeared between his eyebrows.***A silence prevailed that could have filled the Grand Canyon.***"Maybe he could work up an act--Professor McClumpha, the Mathematical Wizard." [That name is apparently pulled out of the air, and we never hear it again.]***He had a habit of laughing in reverse, inhaling a laugh instead of exhaling it, as though sucking his mirth back into himself.***Milton had not yet, however, written "finis" to that chapter relating to his former life. There remained a few asterisks demanding footnotes.***The mind of Herman Bogel was like a patent cigarette lighter. Only its owner could understand how it worked, and sometimes it seemed that he himself was not quite sure.***"Bogel, you are a buzzard!"The vehemence of the blast nearly removed the toupée from the elfin's skull.***He removed his pince-nez and tapped them on his left thumbnail, while two deep creases furrowed the figure "11" above his nose.***Suddenly his pince-nez sprang off his nose as the implication of his own words lifted him from his chair.***[Yet another monkey puzzle--but not a tree, this time.]"What's a species of monkey in five letters?""Oh, that again!" Bogel sighed. "Always those puzzles! I'm not interested in five-lettered monkeys at the moment." [In other words, "Not now! Not now!"]***She felt the warmth of a blush in her cheeks and in embarrassment laid another blush on top of the first one. There could be no doubt that A. P. saw it. He regarded her with alarm, like a boy appalled to see that he had actually scared somebody by yelling "boo!"***"Yup, a traveling carnival. Can you bend it?"Much less than bend it, Miss Brainard couldn't even believe it.***There she could wrestle with her dilemma in private. Dilemma-wrestling, like shadow-boxing, is best done alone.***The chief actuary had begun to gather himself together, but even with all the Bixby parts reassembled, he was only capable of voicing a mere cliché.***The rain quit shortly before noon on Wednesday morning, probably from utter exhaustion.***The only sign of life inside the ancient vehicle was a toupée moving back and forth inside the cashier's cage.***To most people, admittedly, Bogel was a distinct pain in the proverbial. [I don't recall hearing this one before, but I see that it has a presence in search results.]***Amos Carter's forehead rolled up to resemble a bewildered washboard.***
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