His eyes perpetually blinkling after the fashion of near-sighted people, and an in convenient deafness, which furnished a good pretext to call for a repetition when he did not choose to hear, and a stammering which admitted of reflection when it was necessary, …

In any event, the first time the homeowner comes in contact with the contractor is when the job is actually performed. By then, Childers said, the suede shoe operator has skipped town and the contractor is responsible […]

From the bank, and from the river, / He flashed into the crystal mirror, / Tirra lirra, tirra lirra, / Sang Sir Launcelot.

Today, it is probably true to say that both varieties have positive prestige but for different reasons and to differing extents: attitudes to Swiss German, as the unifying vernacular that gives the German-Swiss their identity, are positive in every respect, while Swiss standard German enjoys widespread prestige only as a written form that enables them to be part of the international German-speaking community […].