white stuff
“Morphine, heroin, or cocaine. 1908–”
—Stone the Crows: Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, second edition, 2008.
Whitey
“A white person; also, white people collectively. 1942–”
—Stone the Crows: Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, second edition, 2008.
yellow-belly
“A coward. 1930–”
—Stone the Crows: Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, second edition, 2008.
yellow jack
“Yellow fever. 1836–.”
—Stone the Crows: Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, second edition, 2008.
yellow jacket
“A phenobarbitone tablet. 1953–.”
—Stone the Crows: Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, second edition, 2008.
my veins coursed not with blood but light
“It was then that it happened. As I looked at the setting sun, I was possessed by light. What is given to few men was given to me. I saw the One. I was absorbed by Helios and my veins coursed not with blood but light.
I saw it all. I saw the simplicity at the heart of creation.”
—Gore Vidal, Julian, 1964.
He wore the purple
“Constantius was a man of overwhelming dignity. . . . He wore the purple, a heavy robe which hung from shoulder to heel; on his head was a fillet of silver set with pearls.”
—Gore Vidal, Julian, 1964.
Ellipses
“Ellipses . . . are . . . great.”
—Oscar Wilde (attributed)