...like a grain of sand that gets into an oyster's shell. What if the grain doesn't want to become a pearl? Is it ever asked to climb out quietly and take up its old position as a bit of ocean floor?

Cigars should be like onions," she said, unfastening the catch and pushing back the pane. "Either the whole company does, or the whole company does not.

Sometimes it is better not to know. Sometimes when you do know you just fold up.

[Harry] had always suffered from a vague restlessness, a longing for adventure that she told herself severely was the result of reading too many novels when she was a small child.

All you did was sit there, he said. Why are you so tired? I sat very diligently, she said.

Say yes, babe, or I'll spill you off over the Wall next time - got it?

the touch of evil poisons by the idea of it. Reject the idea, and you've rejected the evil