It was the heart of any scam or fiddle -- keep the punter uncertain, or, if he is certain, make him certain of the wrong thing.

He was currently wondering vaguely who Moey and Chandon were.

Knowing how bad you could be is a great encouragement to being good.

I know it's a very human thing to say 'Is there anything I can do', but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.

He was, he would be the first to admit, a coward, an incompetent, and not even very good at being a failure.

You had to deal every day with people who were foolish and lazy and untruthful and downright unpleasant, and you could certainly end up thinking that the world would be considerably improved if you gave them a slap.

Hat = wizard, wizard = hat. Everything else is frippery.