Word: shill
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Peter Prescott came to Harvard last week to shill his most recent book, A Darkening Green, which purports to be a memoir of the 1950s and the author's freshman year at Harvard. He was very nervous and understandably so, since anyone who writes a book like that has quite a bit to answer...
...Exorcist had been invested with any real intelligence or passion, if it had wanted to do something other than promote a few shivers, the explicitness would never have mattered. As used here, the explicitness amounts to not much more than a shill, a come...
...storm center of the play is Hickey, the drummer, the shill for salvation through recognition of selfdelusion. He annihilates the pipedreams in which the patrons of Harry Hope's back room curl up like quaking children in the middle of a nightmare. Everyone in Harry Hope's place needs booze to nourish his dream, but it is the dream itself, not alcohol, that keeps them alive. Hickey, underneath his salesman's brass and chatter, needs rage, contempt and anguish to galvanize the entire play...
...literary fancy is a ring of courtesans organized by a shadowy group of sinners to pry cashable secrets out of the military-industrial complex. His hero is a plausible young fastmouth, Tom Habba-kuk-named somewhat pretentiously after a 7th century B.C. minor prophet -who has been recruited to shill for the vestals, as the girls are called. He turns out to be very good...
Then let Mrs. F. take a "Bug" to the Volkswagen agency for service. What a difference. At the risk of sounding like a shill for VW, I have made the comparison. Never have I received anything but prompt, courteous and competent service at the dealers. The work is often covered by the warranty, and the bills are reasonable...