Word: peculiarities
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...talking to Savero Mancini, a man I've got to assume is not one of the tribal elders. Before I can get to my questions, he's unloading facts on me left and right: 170,000 square feet; 2,600 slots, etc. Then he starts into more peculiar terrain. "The day-care program is fully licensed," he explains, "with very tight security...There's only...
Like birds, which evolved independently 70 million years later, pterosaurs had bones that were hollow and lightweight. (One scientist refers to pterosaur skeletons as "Styrofoam and mailing tubes.") But of all the trademarks of a pterosaur, one of the most peculiar was its hand, which boasted three clawlike fingers of normal size and a fourth digit that was outlandishly long. It was this fourth finger that provided structural support for the wings. Made of a skin-like membrane, the wings were supported by thousands of microscopic fibers that acted rather like the ribs of a folding umbrella, creating a flexible...
...scriptural difficulties. Both approaches were developed as aids to the believer: they worked from the assumption that God's logic was impeccable; only man's understanding was wanting. But readers may miss a chance to identify with the patriarchs' vibrant humanity and to sharpen their own faith against the peculiar abrasiveness of the Biblical characters...
...Homeric audiences had presumably heard of them too. For all its narrative speed, the Odyssey is remarkable in the way it resists modern notions of suspense. The question is not what will happen next but how thoroughly the bard recounts the particulars of every scene. Fagles' translation captures this peculiar quality perfectly. Late in the story Odysseus is back in Ithaca; he has revealed his identity to Telemachus and two loyal servants and challenged the hundred or so of Penelope's suitors to a fight to the death. All hell is about to break loose, and yet Homer pauses...
...line, others are complete nonsense. The majority of his work, as in the following excerpt from "The Object Lesson," is a combination of the two: "At twilight, however, no message had come from the asylum, so the others retired to the kiosk, only to discover the cakes iced a peculiar shade of green...