Ethel was yet bathing her eyes with elderflowers, preparatory to going, when her departure was again delayed by another visitor.

A pale strip of white skin peeked out from under his waistband.

Houses and photography sets seem to work better, he said, if “I exert a system of precision.” Ms. Ford, 33, said she is by nature a piler and stacker but has learned to follow what she described good-naturedly as “the Charlie Code.”

Some cities discourage salmoning with clever signage, like this in London: If you can read this you are biking the wrong way.