Although sex may be hinted at, overtly erotic rhymes are rare.
In between comes an astonishingly diverse lineup, with far more attractions than can even be hinted at here.
As Gypsy Rose Lee once said, flesh must be "hinted at rather than hollered about" to reach that illusion of seduction which is central to the stripper's art.
The shattering power of Friend's memoir — he grew up in a mildly repressed family, attended good schools, travelled without serious incident, landed a great job, and is happily married — can only be hinted at here.
And so the possibility that some of Carrie's freely-made choices — in sex, love, and conspicuous consumption — might actually be not only mistaken but actually morally corrosive could only be hinted at, never fully explored.
Robert Mitchum is a very world-weary Philip Marlowe; the mystery he investigates transferred lock stock and barrel to late 70s England, with copious doses of the kind of sleaze that could only be hinted at in the 30s original.
