We had to delay the picnic because a toad-strangler rolled in just as we were packing the sandwiches.

When the fever hit, to take one's bed seemed inevitable.

By the time we reached the car, we were soaked to the skin and shivering from the cold.

As a cultural reporter, keeping an ear to the ground is part of her job.

Critics praise to the skies the director after the premiere, overlooking the film's numerous flaws.

When I showed him the process, he said there's nothing to it and finished the job in minutes.

From time to time, I go to the library to find books that inspire me.

The engineers estimated the mean time to failure for the new pump and scheduled maintenance accordingly.

The old miser's manners were odious as a toad, and guests avoided his company.

When a quick fix would have sufficed, he chose to employ a steam engine to crack a nut, turning a ten-minute chore into an absurdly elaborate production.