Exercise 40.4

1. The dad was—how can you put this gracefully?—a real blimp, a wide load, and the white polyester stretch-pants only emphasized the cargo. —Garrison Keillor, “Happy to Be Here”
2. Not only are the distinctions we draw between male nature and female nature largely arbitrary and often pure superstition: they are completely beside the point. —Brigid Brophy, “Women”
3. If no one, including you, liked the soup the first time round (and that’s why you’ve got so much left over), there is no point in freezing it for some hopeful future date when, miraculously, it will taste delicious. But bagging leftovers—say, stews—in single portions can be useful for those evenings when you’re eating alone.—Nigella Lawson, How to Eat