"Poser" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... at her last conversazione, propounded to PUNCH the following classical poser:—"How would you translate the Latin words, puella, defectus, puteus, dies, into four English interjections?" Our wooden Roscius hammered his pate for full five minutes, and then exclaimed—"A-lass! a-lack! a-well a-day!" Her ladyship protested ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, Complete • Various
... eh?" He put his poser to me, turning with angry eyes, but ended on a short laugh of contempt. "Do not try make-believe with me, ...
— Sir John Constantine • Prosper Paleologus Constantine
... connection with the exceedingly old "darky" he once met in the South, who claimed to have crossed the Delaware with Washington. "Were you with Washington," asked Mark Twain mischievously, "when he took that hack at the cherry tree?" This was a poser for the old darkey; his pride was appealed to, his very character was at stake. After an awkward hesitation, the old darkey spoke up, a gleam of simulated recollection (and real gratification for his convenient memory) overspreading his countenance: "Lord, boss, I was dar. In cose I was. I ...
— Mark Twain • Archibald Henderson
... laugh escaped the artist. "Bully for you, Son! That's a poser! Aside from taxing the poor and having enemies beheaded, I'm puzzled to know what he really did do to earn ...
— O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1921 • Various
... reading the gospels with me at his own desire. I refused till I had asked his father's consent, and Sheykh Yussuf who heard me begged me by all means to make him read it carefully so as to guard him against the heretical inventions he might be beset with among the English 'of the vulgar sort.' What a poser ...
— Letters from Egypt • Lucie Duff Gordon
... Squire's custom, when one of the smaller scholars or poorer spellers rose to spell against the master, to give out eight or ten easy words, that they might have some breathing-spell before being slaughtered, and then to give a poser or two which soon settled them. He let them run a little, as a cat does a doomed mouse. There was now but one person left on the opposite side, and, as she rose in her blue calico dress, Ralph recognized Hannah, the bound girl at old Jack Means's. She had not attended school in the district, and ...
— The Hoosier Schoolmaster - A Story of Backwoods Life in Indiana • Edward Eggleston
... necessary idea would not come, rack his brains as he would. All things, however, come to those who wait—and persevere—and one morning he announced, in a state of considerable excitement, that he had a poser to set before them. He brought out a square piece of silk on which were embroidered a number of fleurs-de-lys in rows, ...
— The Canterbury Puzzles - And Other Curious Problems • Henry Ernest Dudeney
... poser, and they gave up the puzzle, though Jamie confided to Rose that he did not think he could live till Monday without knowing what this ...
— Eight Cousins • Louisa M. Alcott
... can an electro-magnetic message be communicated to the mind, without a knowledge of the alphabet used by the telegraphers? This question may seem a poser to some minds. But I don't see that it raises any grave difficulty. I answer the question by asking another:—How can persons in the somnambulic state read with ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, Issue 11, September, 1858 • Various
... Word! Maiden Forlorn, 'tis a poser you put to the country, the cliques, and the classes, The Landlord, The Farmer, the Labourer! Say they agree, what response may you hope from "the Masses." Those tiresome "Consumers"? Old myths and new rumours are like the East wind, Maiden, mighty unfilling; Bucolic ideas and crude ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, December 17, 1892 • Various
... a steady molding, educating influence equal to a society of decorative art upon the people and the animals who have dwelt in this artistic atmosphere. The Attic goat has become an artificially artistic being; though of course he is not now what he was, as a poser, in the days of Polycletus. There is opportunity for a very instructive essay by Mr. E. A. Freeman on the decadence of the Attic goat under the ...
— Baddeck and That Sort of Thing • Charles Dudley Warner
... open the service when quiet reigned again and expectation was once more concentrated upon him afforded something of a poser still to the lanky old Jim, elected to perform the offices ...
— Bruvver Jim's Baby • Philip Verrill Mighels
... a home question, and a poser, for Ned had not the least idea of what sum he ought to ask for his work, and at the same time he had a strong antipathy to that species of haggling, which is usually prefaced by the seller, with the reply, "What'll ye give?" There was no other means, ...
— The Golden Dream - Adventures in the Far West • R.M. Ballantyne
... and leaning back in his chair, as if about to administer a poser.] By the way, Mr. Dunning, you tell us you have a strong conviction that Messrs. Hopwood & Co. are a myth, and their offices a sham—[caustically] may I ask whether you've tried to ascertain who is the actual tenant of the room and cellar in ...
— The Big Drum - A Comedy in Four Acts • Arthur Pinero
... conversation on the weather, and the dogs, the horses, neighbours, cricket, golf, was mingled with a literary murmur; for the Dennants were superior, and it was quite usual to hear remarks like these "Have you read that charmin' thing of Poser's?" or, "Yes, I've got the new edition of old Bablington: delightfully bound—so light." And it was in July that Holm Oaks, as a gathering-place of the elect, was at its best. For in July it had become customary to welcome there many of ...
— Forsyte Saga • John Galsworthy
... priori, we would have recommended to him; but, as he had clearly shown us that it was an ineffectual one, we really felt greatly at a loss what to say; and, under this difficulty, we all remained for some time thoughtful and silent. At length, however, it was agreed amongst us, as the case was a poser, that we should sleep on the matter, and in the morning come prepared with such advice as ...
— Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume VI • Various
... Miss Winthrop, ruffling her plumage somewhat for an argument, of which she was fond; "but, as a case in hand, suppose a highly educated and refined man for some reason swept a store out every morning, what would you call him?" and she looked around as if she had given a poser. ...
— Barriers Burned Away • E. P. Roe
... was a poser; and perhaps it was just as well that Dr. Vince was nearing the steps of his home. "I must go in now, Samuel," he said. "But we will talk about these ...
— Samuel the Seeker • Upton Sinclair
... bookish; had, as the old saying goes, "wit at will," and, though he never made deliberate and affected efforts to get out of ruts, kept out of them without the least trouble. He was as little of a "poser" or of a "rotter" as he was of a prig, and there was not a drop of bad blood in his veins. If these things could not make a good letter-writer nothing could; and there is little doubt that he will hold his place as such ...
— A Letter Book - Selected with an Introduction on the History and Art of Letter-Writing • George Saintsbury
... That was a poser. Who in thunder was Edith? But I felt that I was on the right track. "As for Edith," I returned, "I don't believe ...
— Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 6, July 1905 • Various
... a poser. Who did want her? He was blessed if he knew. There must be people who wanted her—Adair, for instance. But the mention of Adair would provide her with a reason for a new outburst. There was only one thing to say under the circumstances, so he ...
— The Kingdom Round the Corner - A Novel • Coningsby Dawson
... presenting this document to Sir Edward Grey fell upon Mr. Laughlin, who was now Charge d'affaires. Mr. Laughlin is a diplomat of great experience, but this responsibility at first seemed to be something of a poser even for him. He had received explicit instructions from Washington to present this resolution, and the one thing above all which a diplomatic officer must do is to carry out the orders of his government, but Mr. Laughlin well knew that, should he present this paper in the usual manner, ...
— The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume II • Burton J. Hendrick
... had not made him happy. It would be absurd to say that he looked sad. A boy of his age cannot look sad continually, unless sadness is a pose with him, which he is enjoying very much indeed. But Bonbright was no poser.... And he did not look happy. There were even times when there was a worn, haggard look about his eyes when he came down in the morning. This was when he had allowed ...
— Youth Challenges • Clarence B Kelland
... true, very unaesthetic, but amusing. I have not seen Ruth, by Mrs. Gaskell. I hear it much admired—and blamed. It is one of the many proofs of the desire women now have to friser questionable topics, and to poser insoluble moral problems. George Sand has turned their heads in that direction. I think a few broad scenes or hearty jokes a la Fielding were very harmless in comparison. They ...
— Reviews • Oscar Wilde
... considere le regne animal d'apres les principes que nous venons de poser en se debarrassant des prejuges etablis sur les divisions anciennement admises, en n'ayant egard qu'a l'organisation et a la nature des animaux, et non pas a leur grandeur, a leur utilite, au plus ou ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 51, January, 1862 • Various
... not successfully answer this official poser, the Doctor bade the sergeant and the inspector good-night, and, repeating his former assurances of perfect willingness to do whatever he could in the affair, walked out of the police-station. At home, by the dining-room fire, he found ...
— A Bachelor's Dream • Mrs. Hungerford
... difficulty in meeting. Other difficulties were stated. These, with a little thought, he also met. He had evidently scarcely any other quality than presumption. I told him at last that, from the inhabitants in the vicinity, it was necessary that he should speak Dutch. This seemed a poser, but, after some hesitancy and hemming, and the re-mustering of his cardinal presumption, he thought he could shortly render himself qualified to speak. I admired the very presumption of the theory, ...
— Personal Memoirs Of A Residence Of Thirty Years With The Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers • Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
... L'ternel dsespoir de tous ses ennemis. Pareil ces esprits que ta Justice envoie, 55 Quand son roi lui dit: Pars, il s'lance avec joie, Du tonnerre vengeur s'en va tout embraser, Et tranquille ses pieds revient le dposer. ...
— Esther • Jean Racine
... the air of one who has uttered a poser, only to have another of the satin-clad people reply, from a point which she was ...
— The Lord of Death and the Queen of Life • Homer Eon Flint
... poser! Do you mean to say she married and retired—landed some simp? They do once in a while. Could tell you queer things about certain ancestries ...
— The Avalanche • Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
... Look, put thy live leg here in the place where mine once was; so, now, here is only one distinct leg to the eye, .. yet two to the soul. Where thou feelest tingling life; there, exactly there, there to a hair, do I. Is't a riddle? I should humbly call it a poser, sir. Hist, then. How dost thou know that some entire, living, thinking thing may not be invisibly and uninterpenetratingly standing precisely where thou now standest; aye, and standing there in thy spite? In thy most solitary hours, then, dost thou not fear ...
— Moby-Dick • Melville
... or two that was a poser, for every member of Dick & Co. tried, always, to be as open and honest as the ...
— The Grammar School Boys Snowbound - or, Dick & Co. at Winter Sports • H. Irving Hancock
... moment a perfect "poser" to Ishmael. He wasn't interested in bonnets! But, however, as he had the faculty of seeing, understanding, and remembering everything that fell under his observation in his own limited sphere, he blew out his candle, ...
— Ishmael - In the Depths • Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
... regard to registration expenses. The upshot was that the Candidate is expected to subscribe L80 a year to the Association for this purpose, which I eventually agreed to do. Found fourteen letters waiting for me. No. 1 was from Miss POSER, the Secretary of the Billsbury Women's Suffrage League, asking me to receive a small deputation on the question, and to lay my views before them. No. 2 from the Anti-Vaccination League, stating that a deputation had been appointed to meet me, in order to learn my ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 100, April 25, 1891 • Various
... shed, or, if it be a small animal, in your studio. Study as you would any other thing, from a chair to a man. The principles of drawing do not change with the character of anatomy. The animal may be less amiable a poser, but you must ...
— The Painter in Oil - A complete treatise on the principles and technique - necessary to the painting of pictures in oil colors • Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst
... "poser" on Bob; and, after stammering and mumbling for some time-looking at Harry slyly, then at Marston, and again dropping his eyes on the ...
— Our World, or, The Slaveholders Daughter • F. Colburn Adams
... looking for turtles, but that horror drove me in. When you hailed me, I had it so bad that I could just about make out not to run for the house like a scared cat, yelling all the way. Turning back to the lake with you was a poser. But I did; and the feeling was all gone as quick as it came. We had a nice morning's shooting. Once in a while I've felt it sort of driving me indoors when I stepped off the porch or over to the barn at night. That's a funny thing: the fear was always outside, not in ...
— The Thing from the Lake • Eleanor M. Ingram
... just to show that the small boy really stands in need of a little instruction in the art of buying apples. So I will give a simple poser dealing with ...
— Amusements in Mathematics • Henry Ernest Dudeney
... poser for Gonzaga. How was he to go about such a business as that? It was beyond his powers. Thus ...
— Love-at-Arms • Raphael Sabatini
... "poser." Born to a full realization of the vast gulf which providence has fixed between the Highlands and the rest of the world, Janet recognized it as such. Pausing, she leaned on her hoe, anxiously waiting, while Timmins chewed a straw and the cud ...
— Quaint Courtships • Howells & Alden, Editors
... Mr Know-all? What has Gladstone done for the sailors, you an' me? That's a poser for you; and look at the money he gave away about the Alabama to the Yankees, instead of fightin' them for it like an Englishman. That's another poser for you!" retorted the big, burly antagonist who had wakened up and entered into ...
— The Shellback's Progress - In the Nineteenth Century • Walter Runciman
... "Why not put that poser to Ronnie direct, instead of putting it to me? Forgive me for saying so, but you are suffering just now from a reaction, after the terrible strain through which you have passed. And Ronnie is wretched too, because he remembers how you let fly at him that evening, ...
— The Upas Tree - A Christmas Story for all the Year • Florence L. Barclay
... government, irrespective of party, to back the project. The two facts were these—of Canada's agricultural exports eighty per cent. went to Great Britain. In spite of Canada spending a billion on her transportation system, look at the fact well—it is a poser—only from thirty-two to forty per cent. of her export trade went out by Canadian routing. Why was that? The Department of Railroads and Canals in its annual report explains elaborately that sixty per cent. of Western Canadian grain went out by ...
— The Canadian Commonwealth • Agnes C. Laut
... with Charles Lamb, kept boring him to death with questions in the jargon of agriculturists about crops. At length he put a poser—"And pray, sir, how are turnips t'year?"—"Why that, sir," stammered out Lamb, "will depend upon the ...
— The Jest Book - The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings • Mark Lemon |
