He played a few quick phrases, then stretched his lips as if they were appendages, like a runner shaking off tension after a sprint.
"Megan," I say, "could you ask Ms. Yang what she thinks of Mao?" The two exchange a few quick phrases in Mandarin before Ms. Yang, with barely a glance to the side or behind, pulls out into the Beijing traffic.
SEATTLE – All it took was President Obama's quick, vague phrase – "no matter who you love" – and about 2,000 supporters at a Democratic fund-raiser here on Thursday erupted in applause and cheers, seeming to guess he was alluding to his newly announced support for same-sex marriage.
Set to music by Dead Can Dance, it begins in a feverish rush: as a group reacts in unison to the pulsating beat in a quick, repetitive phrase of earthy movement, one dancer leaves to run around the perimeter of the stage.
He also found room for his frolicsome side, conjugating quick little phrases with aplomb.
Mr. Honda speaks slowly, and does not use quick, quotable phrases.
This talent for quick, memorable phrase-making is an art of the popular, and one that many poets, strangely enough, lack.
Where Mr. Aronson is sturdy Jewish rye, Mr. Comte-Sponvisle is Gallic croissant: personal, conversational, charming, quick with phrases like "Christian atheist," "cheerful despair" and "atheistic mysticism".
"Nellie was also a master of the quick turn of phrase to put people in their place," she said.
My colleague Patrick LaForge remains on the prowl for clichés — particularly the clichés of journalese, employed primarily by journalists reaching for the quick and easy phrase on deadline.
