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81 " Non sono in grado di descrivere lo strazio della mia anima quando la brace di una sigaretta brucia ancora nel fango, anche se le labbra che la stringevano sono esplose. Quella sigaretta l’avevo accesa io, Es. Sapevo che sarebbe stata la sua ultima. È così che facciamo. Accendiamo una sigaretta, annuiamo, sosteniamo il loro sguardo. Poi li mandiamo all’assalto. Non ci sono parole. "
― Pip Williams , The Dictionary of Lost Words
82 " Alle mogli di tre uomini e alle madri di quattro sarò io a scrivere. Ci hanno detto di non fornire descrizioni, come se fosse possibile, ma qualcuno ci ha provato. Il mio lavoro, stasera, è censurarle, e ho coperto le parole di ragazzi che sanno a malapena leggere e scrivere e di ragazzi che potrebbero diventare poeti, così che le loro madri continuino a pensare che la guerra sia fatta di gloria e di belle battaglie. "
83 " L’ufficiale si chiama Ajit e mi ha spiegato l’origine della parola. Tiene a farti sapere che il suo nome significa «invincibile» e ha insistito affinché lo scrivessi sulla schedina. Quando gli ho detto che non avevo idea del significato del mio nome, ha scrollato la testa e ha commentato: «Questo non è bello. Il nome di un uomo è il suo destino». Secondo questa logica, lui è particolarmente adatto alla guerra.[...]PS: Ajit non era invincibile. "
84 " I watched him like a stranger might. There was something unfamiliar about him. His face was more intent than I’d ever seen it and his body surer. It struck me that we are never fully at ease when we are aware of another’s gaze. Perhaps we are never fully ourselves. In the desire to please or impress, to persuade or dominate, our movements become conscious, our features set. "
85 " Words define us, they explain us, and, on occasion, they serve to control or isolate us. But what happens when words that are spoken are not recorded? What effect does that have on the speaker of those words? "
86 " My Dictionary of Lost Words was no better than the grille in the Ladies’ Gallery of the House of Commons: it hid what should be seen and silenced what should be heard. When Mabel was gone and I was gone, the trunk would be no more than a coffin. "
87 " Oh, yes. I feel him more here than I ever have in church. Out here it’s like we’re stripped of all our clothes, of the callouses on our hands that tell our place, of our accents and words. He cares for none of it. All that matters is who you are in your heart. I’ve never loved him as much as I should, but here I do. "
88 " Words are like stories, don’t you think, Mr. Sweatman? They change as they are passed from mouth to mouth; their meanings stretch or truncate to fit what needs to be said. "
89 " etymology "
90 " But when we talk about her, she comes to life.’ ‘Never forget that, Esme. Words are our tools of resurrection. "
91 " Was I better? Before Shropshire I'd felt broken, as though I would fall should the scaffold of my work be removed. I didn't feel that now, but there was a fine crack through the middle of me, and I suspected it might never mend. I remembered Lizzie apologising to Mrs Lloyd the first time she stayed to chat, for the chip in the cup. 'A chip doesn't stop it from holding tea,' Mrs Lloyd had said. "
92 " Suffrage," I said."An important word."I smiled. "They are all important, Mr. Sweatman.""Of course, but some mean more than we might imagine," he said. "I sometimes fear the dictionary will fall short.""How could it not?" I forgot I was in a hurry. "Words are like stories, don't you think Mr. Sweatman? They change are they are passed from mouth to mouth; their meanings stretch to truncate to fit what needs to be said... "
93 " to scratch was not always to find, and to find was not always to be informed. "
94 " — a real word is one that is said out loud and means something to someone. "
― Pip Williams
95 " God is in this place,” she said, without shifting her gaze from Wenlock Edge. “Do you think so, Lizzie?” “Oh, yes. I feel him more here than I ever have in church. Out here it’s like we’re stripped of all our clothes, of the callouses on our hands that tell our place, of our accents and words. He cares for none of it. All that matters is who you are in your heart. I’ve never loved him as much as I should, but here I do.” “Why is that?” I asked. “I reckon it’s the first time he’s noticed me. "
96 " Words are our tools of resurrection. "
97 " Without her in it, Lizzie’s room felt unfamiliar—as if it might not belong to her. "
98 " It was the printing room, and it was, indeed, noisy. But there were rhythms on top of rhythms, and trying to separate them settled my panic. "
99 " Near the top of your class in a number of subjects, “continually questioning” according to Miss McKinnon. This is the fundamental attribute of scholars and liberals, "
100 " visitor. "