Word: absurdities
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...belief in religion, national destiny and the rest of that package, the country has simply refused to accept industrial growth as a substitute; it possesses some moral force which is stronger than the extremely doubtful material benefits growth seems to offer. While Prime Ministers and responsible commentators peddle these absurd nostrums, the nation can only laugh...
...only got worse: the New Haven sky grew grayer and grayer, obscuring the surrounding hills. By 3:30 p.m. the weather was uncommonly foul. The brightest objects in sight were Harvard's white jerseys, the fans' foul weather gear and the grass on the field. The situation became downright absurd when the gray metamorphisized, converting into rain, and gave 41,247 disgusted fans the excuse to depart they wanted. The Bowl, which had originally been little more than half full, grew emptier and emptier. By the final gun, the 70,000 blue seats were almost entirely bare...
UNLIKE MANY characters in modern novels who are paralyzed by a world that looms absurd and meaningless, Skelton maintains deliberate control by asserting the inviolability of his soul. This opens a great margin of humor in the book, for many experiences that would smash a weaker ego simply glance off Skelton. He is intellectually happy-go-lucky. Reflecting McGuane's authorial faith in the power of words to synthesize coherence from a barrage of external events, Skelton continually articulates his perceptions...
More telling, perhaps, was the treatment in the Soviet press of President Nixon, who, for an American politician, has hitherto been afforded extraordinary deference. After the U.S. military alert, an unusually blunt statement by Tass accused Washington of "absurd" reports about the Soviet military alert intended to "intimidate" the U.S.S.R. Soviet newspapers, which had virtually ignored "Vatergatski," even began hinting to the Russian public that Nixon might not survive in office...
...affair with Violet, which began after five happy years of marriage, arose through "an absurd circumstance." World War I had given Vita a chance to run around in breeches. Harold was away, Violet appeared in red velvet. "I hadn't dreamt of such an art of love," Vita recollects. Soon the two women were running off to France together?over and over. In the circumstance, Harold carried British sang-froid and tolerance to laughable extremes. From Versailles, where he was busy working on the treaty, he used to cable money with an "Enjoy yourself." He made quips about "wild oats...