Smearing has long been displaced by dips, to the detriment of the poor sheep […] . It could not be kept on much longer than it was, because with the desolation of the country districts, smearers were not to be found in most places.

But particular men are not stereotyped for jobs nor particular desks (as against others) to sit at - the standard here is nonce.

You know he shouldn't have done it, so don't try to excuse his behavior!

“You're forty?” I looked him up and down. Damn, forty was looking like that these days? I thought. I guess the old adage good black don't crack was real.