A centerpiece such as a basket of fruits or a pumpkin vase of flowers would make the dining table look beautiful and Instagramable.

If it were not for the existence of feminist-controlled alternative presses, many works of creation and social criticism by women writers would not be published at all, said Ms. Aidoo.

There was spit all over the washbasin.

I don’t know whether any of you, gentlemen, ever partook of a real, substantial, hospitable Scotch breakfast, and then went to a slight lunch of a bushel of oysters, a dozen or so of bottled ale, and a noggin or two of whisky to close up with.