There is something of a conspiracy of silence about blacks' dismal performance in school: silence from black leaders who don't want to be accused of "blaming the victim", silence from teachers who don't want to draw attention to the biggest failure of American education.
But there was silence from Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia and dismal warnings from Israel that the deal would merely embolden its fiercest adversary.
Most effective are the silences, as the tortured lead characters ponder their dismal options.
That dismal record is why the founders of 18F say they chose to work for the government: They wanted silence the critics.
Our evening would be full of awkward pauses and icy silences, and we'd be overwhelmed by a sense of helpless resignation about the long and dismal life we'd now be forced to spend together.
Dismal streets, dismal lives.
"It's dismal, very dismal".
This dismal performance left dismal scientists feeling appropriately dismal.
DISMAL economies are often dismal for economists.
Risk management was dismal.
