Part 5

He catches the wind with a net

Scanty prospects

It is a hopeless proposition

It is futile to——

I am afraid he is indulging in a futile hope

The matter will never be consummated

Their hope is without foundation

He is on a fruitless errand

It will result in the inevitable breakdown of——

But in spite of all our optimism the evidence is overwhelming that——

That has been tried before but with no distinct success

The game is not worth the candle

It has cooled my resolutions

It may be something of a damper to be told that——

GENEROUS

Liberal Magnanimous

A man of generous disposition

Built on a generous scale

Not the least mite stingy

Kindly disposed

A revelation of tenderness which is very reassuring

With noticeable consideration

His kindness knew no bounds

A generous view of life

No man of breadth cares one whit whether——

Large minded men with liberal views

A breadth of outlook

Broad tolerance

A magnanimous man

In the most generous fashion

A people known for their warm hearts

Kinder than the kindest

GIFTED

Talented Extraordinary

He is a capable fellow

He is my beau ideal in every respect

He has a genuine aptitude for business

He has considerable colloquial talents

He is finely qualified by exceptional advantages

Of rare powers

Of no ordinary faculties

He is a man of many fascinations

He is one who can think for a commonwealth

You can leave it to him for being clever

He is a man of real ability and fitness

One of the most fascinating persons I——

He rendered brilliant service in——

Few men have rendered more conspicuous service

He possesses in an unusual degree the power of——

He shakes the pillars of the temple

He presided with rare dignity

He is the organizer of victory

He could not fail to delight a cultivated public

He plays with wonderful expression

He passes things through the alembic of his own mind

With the suavity of conscious power

A man of consequence

He creates confidence

He carries conviction

He has the qualities of triumphant leadership

GOOD-HUMORED

Good-natured Cheerful

He is anointed above his fellows with the oil of good-feeling

In his happiest mood

The era of good feeling

A bit of good-humored chaff

The friendly relations so happily subsisting between——

He did not think it in any way demeaning to his dignity——

Put the best construction upon every action

Like a boy before a holiday

Grumpiness is no feature of his nature

An irrepressible youthfulness of heart

Beaming with good humor

His nature is all sunshine

As full of happiness as a hive is full of bees

As merry as a child

Happy as an angel

A real delight to me

A source of æsthetic pleasure

Those were halcyon days

His good humor was so infectious

A breezy good-humor

The era of good feeling

The happiest moods which can fill the soul

GROUCHY

Petulant Irritable

As sullen as an ill-tempered boy

The impression of pure pique

Skulking in his tent

As impatient as the wind

In a huff

Symptoms of an attack of nerves

He could brook no delay

Sullen silence

Tears of vexation

One in whom the milk of human kindness had turned sour

One of those people who make themselves wretched and pass on their misery to those near them

A man with a hair-trigger constitution

He does not suffer fools gladly

So provoking

I shall be right glad when——

Solemn as the day of judgment

He took umbrage at what I said

Not in a particularly genial frame of mind

As acid as vinegar

As gloomy as an old man by a fireless hearth

I’m afraid he started the day in a contradictory mood

A censorious attitude toward one’s fellowmen

GULLIBLE

Ignorant Stupid

Given out for gospel to the ignorant

An easy mark

The optimism of ignorance

The prey of profiteers

I am afraid he will be taught by many a sore and scalding lesson

The easy prey of——

He fell into the trap

He nibbled at the bait

The unsuspecting victim of——

HABITUAL

Customary Usual

He had become habituated to——

Of frequent iteration

An inveterate habit

Of immemorial usage

Over a well-beaten path

Addicted to the habit of——

He moves in a rut

Custom calls me to ’t. _Coriolanus_, II., 3

Until it shall become an indispensable and delightful habit

HASTE

Rapidity Hurry

A high-pressure haste

With all practical speed

As quick as a wink

A concession to the requirements of brevity

HASTY

Premature Rash

A little premature

Crossing the bridge before we come to it

We need not say good morrow to the devil until we meet him

Unseemly haste

The more haste the worst speed

He shocked the proprieties

It would be premature to forecast the——

He ran before he was sent

It is too early at this time to state the——

Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow. _Romeo and Juliet_, II., 6

The letting down of restraint

The loosening of bonds

HESITANT

Reluctant Indecisive

I should hate like sixty to——

His heart was not exactly set upon the matter

In a mixed mood

This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd

With perceptible hesitation

A certain disinclination to——

He was unwilling to go the full length

For a moment I was at fault——

One almost feels reluctant to——

It may make us hesitate in making our dictum too positive

I had little inclination to do so

The paralyzing hesitation of self-consciousness

After a sufficient show of reluctance

I confess it is not without trepidation that——

I am duly sensible of my own limitations

It is not without reluctance that——

HINDERED

Hampered Straits

Hard pressed by the cohorts of——

At a distinct disadvantage

Attended with many inconveniences

A series of singular perplexities

Certain unforeseen emergencies

Entangled in technicalities

As helpless as a sick child

As helpless as animals driven to slaughter

Helplessly caught in the meshes of——

They will doubtless do their worst to bring about a——

Many plans disrupted

It slackens resolution

Impaired its usefulness

Eking out an all too small living

A man who wants bread is ready for anything

Necessity is the mother of invention

The greatest drawback to my comfort is——

For every new method a counter-method

HONORED

Noted Acclaimed

Recipient of most unusual attentions

The thought of him doth breed in us perpetual benediction

A man of splendid merit

His star is in the ascendant

Treated with great consideration

One of nature’s noblemen

No man is a hero in the eyes of his valet

There is none so poor to do him reverence

A name which stands very high on the scroll of fame

A tribute of reverence and love

He reaps golden sheaves who——

A high compliment to——

Whom to have known was a great pleasure

He is easily the foremost man in——

A man whose life is rich in unselfish service

His attitude wins universal admiration

HOPE

Promise Encouragement

Prisoners of hope. _Zech._ IX., 12

Heir of all things. _Heb._ I., 2

We are saved by hope. _Rom._ VIII., 24

The eye of the Lord is upon them that hope in his mercy. _Ps._ XXXIII., 18

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast. _Heb._ VI., 19

We are perplexed, but not in despair. _II Cor._ IV., 8

Thou shalt be secure because there is hope. _Job_ XI., 18

The children of promise. _Gal._ IV., 28

He hath given everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. _II Thess._ II., 16

Hope to the end. _I Pet._ I., 13

From strength to strength. _Ps._ LXXXIV., 7

He staggered not at the promise of God. _Rom._ IV., 20

When the human heart sings with rejoicing hope

When smiles begin to chase the tears

A real breath of heaven

With radiant face

A draught of heavenly pleasure

A triumphant hour

A lively sense of exultation

The dove of peace sings in our hearts

I begin to discover somewhat of His beauty

Transported with joy

A current of pure and hallowed joys flowing through the channels of the heart

An intense inner happiness

A most happy glimpse into the things of God

Secret essences which turn life into a garden of unspeakable delights

HUMOROUS

Ludicrous Funny

A candidate for the psychotherapeutic clinic

This is one of the consequences of getting into good society

Isn’t that a sad state of affairs

It was excruciatingly funny

I threatened him with unspeakable things if——

Less mobile than I could wish

You are appointed the official——

Can you imagine anything more ludicrous than——

My roseate expectations have recently suffered a very severe setback

A strong spice of Irish wit

Bonds for your good behavior will be required

Irresistibly droll

A fusillade of laughter

An awful illustration of——

I was in stitches

I’m in a pickle

Now will you be good

He has a whimsical way of expressing himself

IMPARTIAL

Just Unbiased

Every man has a deep seated instinct for fair play

The thing must be done decently and in order

Strictly impartial

If we are to make both sides balance we must——

Let us not revert to old animosities

IMPECUNIOSITY

Penniless Involved

In a state of habitual impecuniosity

A hand-to-mouth existence

No woman marries an old man for God’s sake

He has seen better days

In desperate circumstances

The futility of riches

In more affluent days

In reduced circumstances

Deeply involved

In embarrassed circumstances

IMPORTANT

Significant Momentous

It was a high day in the——

It is noteworthy that——

A work of paramount importance

Each man has a vital part to perform

This is no small problem

Of transcendent moment

It is imperative that——

One of the great outstanding features of——

One of the most significant items was——

It is a fact of tremendous significance that——

The notable feature of it all is——

Great days

The crucial question is——

Profoundly significant

Of no little moment

There is the fact and it is one of cardinal importance

The one outstanding reason for——

Back of it lies one fact yet more primal

This is the one thing needful

The dominant note of——

It must weigh sensibly with every one

It is high time that——

It has momentous importance

It is worth making note of that——

I dare not abate my vigilance

IMPOSSIBLE

Hopeless Impracticable

As easily as one could mend a spider’s web

As impossible as to count the stars

It is virtually impossible to——

There is no getting blood from a turnip

A practical impossibility

No more than one can sail past the north star

It is simply out of the question

It is not in the least degree likely that——

INDEPENDENT

Flippant Uncontrolled

With an air of injured innocency

He cares not a fig

It matters not a straw

It matters not a whit whether the——

He cares little for conventionalities

It is not worth shucks

It is not a matter of the slightest consequence

He brushed the matter aside as a vagary

With smug complacency

He held himself perfectly aloof from——

Without blush or tremor

INDICATIVE

Evidential Disclosing

It is a straw pointing with evidential import

Where there is so much smoke there is some fire

Straws show which way the current is set

What an apocalypse that will be when——

There are not wanting signs that——

A most infallible indication of——

INDICTMENT

Arraignment Accusation

None the worse for a spark of decent indignation

The hollow shams and conventionalities of our day

No adequate sense of His holiness

Baser than a beast

No keen and poignant perception of sin

The lessening sense of sin

His own heart as cold as frost

Sad and sinful days

Our hearts hot with wrath and indignation against sin

Evil to its core

The devil’s signet

Of decidedly earthly passions

All dried up in one’s soul

Lust was kindled in his heart

Base, mean, prudential, paying no tribute to the Divine excellence

The parching blight of sin

Beware of artful, designing persons

Sins come in groups, in battalions

Like the frosts of sin which blight the sweet blossoms of youth

And taste the tang of the bitter cup

The hundred and one enemies of our peace, comfort, and efficiency

The burning poison in his veins

There is nothing more likely to betray a man into absurdity than

It vexes, grieves, thwarts, repels, drives off the Spirit of God

Beware of the beginnings of sin

Over head and ears in debt and drink

The peril of riches

A coronet of shame

The secret beginnings of sin

An eternal arraignment of all who——

By so doing, he is sowing the seed of a fatal infection

Trifling with great spiritual realities

Lest it might lead to things undesirable

The horror of a bottomless pit

Habits which quietly sap the foundations of life

Words which will shock some dainty soul

A sickening devotion to the pursuit of wealth

The evils of unrighteousness in civic life

It seems to contradict the designs of Providence

A narrowing effect on the conscience of those who have embraced it

Care lest one be inveigled into perdition

Words which ought to make us twinge

Words of worldly wisdom

A brewing storm of hostility

The world’s hardest battlefields of sin and sorrow

In their hearts the feuds of ages

A wretched, dejected, sin-blasted soul

Carnality in the heart

The great enemy of mankind

The black enormity of sin

A miserable grudge in your heart

The spawn of the evil one

A heritage of hate

A dauntless worldling

From whose very touch one’s delicacies shrink

The fires of a sensitive religious experience no longer glow

The grip of evil forces

All alarming, all hateful, all detestable

A gnawing sense of condemnation in the heart

Those who abuse God’s great gift of speech

Some of these enormities put to blush heathenism itself

No deeply seated opinions of right and wrong

A state of lazy indifference

Apparently destitute of ambition

Worthy neither of respect nor honor

Soft and easy days

Mean, petty, social prejudices

The temptation to fritter away life in interests that are small and mean

Everlasting confusion

The enemy shall come in like a flood

The man that speaketh froward things

The resurrection of damnation

A rebellious house

God resisteth the proud

The works of darkness

Unstable as water

Spreading himself like a green bay-tree

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter but war was in his heart

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him

An unprofitable servant

His mouth is full of deceit and fraud

The wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire

A sad vocation

A heart of adamant

A hardened cynic

The vain things

The enormity of sin

A scoffing world

A defeated one

Tenements of dust

The jealous eye

The everlasting burning

The hell of hate

A despicable heart

A sullen silence

A disdainful glance

A brittle promise

A sorry specimen

INDIFFERENCE

Disregard Apathy

It is not worth a moment’s regard

Let “by-gones” be “by-gones”

It is a matter of no importance

Cast it to the winds

What is past shall go for nothing

Of it I really make no account

Let it pass

Quite apathetic

The exceptions are so few as to be negligible

Extremely trivial

In one ear and out at the other

The edge of my inclination is much taken off

A half-hearted interest at best

INFLUENCE

Control Sway

In the hollow of his hand

What he says has great force

It gripped like steel bands

His words touched me most profoundly

He dominates the situation by the sheer force of his personality

A bright beacon shedding light

The creative influences of——

He succeeded in making his presence felt

One cannot get within gunshot of——

It roused the last smouldering spark of——

It may have far greater consequences than——

In the seats of the mighty

Far reaching in its consequences

It does not have a feather’s weight with practical men

Leaven that is gradually purifying the world

Salt that keeps civilization from decay

INGENIOUS

Shrewd Adroit

A situation that requires artful handling

He understands the fine art of the omission of unessentials

He is temperamentally gaited to do things

It was cleverly done

He carries the torch of his genius into——

Taxing the acutest ingenuity of——

With the intuitive sense of affairs

Shrewdness of perception

A masterly exhibition of adroitness and skill

A first-rate master of affairs

He has conceived the happy idea of——

By hook or by crook

A surprising way of——

They will have to do a lot of political tight-rope walking to——

It must put him to his trumps

A fertility of resource that——

INTERESTING

Fascinating Impressive

On tiptoe with expectation

As eager-hearted as a boy

My eyes have been wide open for——

I am mightily concerned to think out how——

It is a matter in which I have a most heartfelt concern

It is highly interesting to note that——

I was fascinated by——

It has all the fascination of an adventure

Life would be very dull without it

An element of excitement in it

Everything to fascinate the imagination

A fine touch of romance in it

He was very keen to gain possession of——

With unflagging interest

Every man rides his own hobby

What is new is always fine

The signs are multiplying that——

The circumstance which gave it such a thrilling interest is the fact that——

It was decidedly impressive

We are not indifferent to——

Fascinating as a Romance

I read with quickened attention the——

This was his meat and drink

There is a growing disposition among——

You have quite excited my curiosity

As fascinating as a romance

It holds the interest with a good grasp

A fascination for many minds

Of enthralling interest

I know the nicest little secret

I have news for you

INTRODUCTION

(Of Speakers)

I have the esteemed privilege of presenting——

I feel highly honored to have the opportunity to present——

I have the great honor of asking you to welcome——

I esteem myself fortunate to have the privilege of presenting——

I count myself happy in being permitted to——

We have with us to-night ————. It is my very great pleasure to present him

It is my good fortune to be called upon to introduce ———— the speaker of the evening. Let us give him an attentive hearing while he speaks to us upon the topic——

I have very great pleasure in presenting to you the speaker of the evening ————. He will address us upon the topic——

It has fallen to my lot to introduce one who is known to many here. I have great pleasure in presenting ————

INTRODUCTORY

Prefatory Preliminary

(For General Conversation)

It goes without saying that——

I am obliged to confess that——

It was a happy thought which led me to——

I venture to propose that——

We had great fun when——

I indulge the modest hope that——

It must be very gratifying to you to——

I am deeply persuaded that——

Reverting to another matter——

I ought not omit remarking that——

And so it befell that——

After expatiating on the——

It is a very curious circumstance to see how——

I frankly confess that——

It is really disconcerting to find that——

I am revealing no secret in saying that——

I must not leave you under misapprehensions so——

I am rather inclined to the opinion that——

I do not find anything in the tenets of my religion which requires me to——

I have a peculiar tenderness for——

As I am continually saying——

In a very humble way, I——

My impression is that——

The upshot of it all was——

Far be it from me to——

It is hardly necessary to add that——

You will be very much pleased to hear that——

I will venture to express a hope that——

I have but one rule to guide my conduct and that is——

I have been strongly tempted to——

Besides this there is to be said——

There is but a thousand-to-one chance that——

It is an open secret that——

I have an impression that——

I informed you wrongly when I said that——

If I mistake not, I believe that——

If I may use the expression I think that——

Quite regardless of my remark, you——

I had the inexpressible comfort of knowing that——

He made a touching proof of his regard by——

I flatter myself that——

Is it not a great mercy to have such a helper

Again and again, I——

Inadvertently, I——

I felt like uttering a mild disclaimer when——

I have little predilection for——

I had the rare satisfaction of——

I was strangely moved when I heard that——

There is a certain distinctive advantage in——

I was amazed to find that——

In my poor judgment, I——

I hold in all seriousness that——

Has the tide of victory set in your favor

By what magic have you found out the secrets of——

We have plumed ourselves upon our ability to——

As luck would have it, I——

To be candid, I——

It seems a positive calamity that——

Do you seriously imagine that——

No one could be so rash as to assert that——

I am satisfied that——

I strongly suspect that——

I fancy that——

Further than this——

Paradoxical as it may seem——

I dare say that——

It is with great pleasure that——

It would ill become me to remark that——

For instance,——

The redeeming feature of it all is——

Quite by chance, I——

I have been wondering whether——

In all probability we——

It is not likely that——

Luckily I——

It is a singular coincidence that——

I took particular pains to notice whether——

It is with problems such as these that——

How very fortunate it is that——

It is a particular piece of good fortune that he——

As a matter of fact, I——

None the less, I——

It can be admitted too that——

Certain it is that——

In some quarters it is believed that——

If that be the case, I——

I confess I look with some alarm at——

I have the great good fortune to have heard that——

I realize afresh that——

The art of arts is——

I flatter myself that——

It is from the heart that I can request that——

I am perfectly convinced that——

The full gravity of the situation is seen in the fact that——

Regardless of anything I said——

I am painfully conscious that——

I wasn’t by any means sure I——

It dawned upon him gradually that——

It is seldom that——

We may be quite sure that——

I have repeatedly said that——

It cannot but carry with it instant conviction that——

By some mischance, I——

Prior to this, we——

I was greatly elated to find that——

I am heartily glad that——

I had a happy thought to-day which I——

I cannot but realize that——

It is scarcely conceivable that——

Frankly, I——

It is intellectually unthinkable that——

On the other hand——

I appreciate most deeply the——

I am devoutly thankful for——

At all events——

I rather apprehend that——

I have sometimes thought that——

It must be owned too, that——

I scarcely feel as if I——

I rather imagine that——

To this day I hardly know whether I——

A very striking proof of the fact is——

I will hazard the observation that——

On the other hand——

May I give you an instance

It is quite indifferent to me whether I——

He used frequently to observe that——

Now that I am a little seasoned, I——

I have heard him often lament that——

You may guess what luck——

I regret extremely that——

It would have been quite out of the question for us to——

Recently I came across this——

I was about to inquire what you thought of——

I have the deepest veneration for——

I suppose the inference we are expected to draw is——

I am confident of one thing that——