And… "Hi, I'm Ben," says a softly spoken, softly bearded man, offering his hand.
Opposition to austerity is spoken softly in official circles, as political leaders fret that markets will punish countries that show weak resolve to reduce debt.
There's "cold" anger, in which words may be overarticulated but spoken softly, and "hot" anger, in which voices are louder and pitched higher.
We do instruct Santas how to say, "Ho, ho, ho," because it needs to be spoken softly or it might scare the children.
I have spoken softly, gone my ways softly, all my days, as behoves one who has nothing to say, nowhere to go, and so nothing to gain by being seen or heard.
And all this might occur in the course of a single, interweaving, almost fugal conversation which had begun with a beaming look through the large glasses and the words, spoken softly, "Did I ever mention that David Hare told Ferdinand Mount that I was an illiterate dickhead?"Mr Gross's love of letters embraced almost everything.
