We called gently rejecting the verbose proposals "the art of pouring cold water, warmly".
In 1862, Abraham Lincoln wrote to King Mongkut, of Siam (the "King and I" king), to gently reject his gift of "a supply of elephants" with which to populate America's forests.
In Nicholson Baker's new novel, "The Anthologist," the narrator — a poet in the throes of writer's block — procrastinates by imagining Paul Muldoon, The New Yorker's poetry editor, gently rejecting his poems: He'll say, Great to have something from you, but these seem a little….And then he'll have some apt adjective — "underweathered," or "overfurnished".
Among the objects on display, assembled with the help of his widow, Christiane, and his longtime executive producer, Jan Harlan, Mrs. Kubrick's brother, are personal letters, including one from Katharine Hepburn gently rejecting a request to star in a film; a Dali-inspired lip-shaped red settee seen in "Lolita"; and the zero-gravity bathroom door used in "2001".
In Nicholson Baker's new novel, "The Anthologist," the narrator — a poet in the throes of writer's block — procrastinates by imagining Paul Muldoon, The New Yorker's poetry editor, gently rejecting his poems: He'll say, Great to have something from you, but these seem a little....And then he'll have some apt adjective — "underweathered," or "overfurnished".
For me, this has ranged from taking no bullsh*t and standing up for myself to learning how to gently reject or be rejected by another person.
If your date brings up a topic about sex, reply politely or gently reject the invitation to the topic.
It was difficult and I turned out a lot of junk, including a couple of serious duds that I shamelessly submitted to the Times only to be gently (but categorically) rejected.
"Going through that process, she was scared, having worked all her life, that she'd get rejected," Ms. Rainford said, gently stroking Ms. Castro's hand.
