His insincerity was obvious to all; he was neither honest nor believable.

They do not depend on external circumstances, implausible natural events, startling coincidences, and the other di ex machinis that stalk mechanically through much romantic fiction.

The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.

[…] mutating into all-star line-ups of emcees spitting hot bars over familiar beats, then to a single crew spitting bars over familiar beats, then eventually to a single crew (or artist) spitting bars over unfamiliar beats.