| In contrast with the conductor's dourness, the train butcher's mood was congenially inclined to persiflage. |
| Nothing distracts from the swell and shimmer of the sleek blue surface that slinks enticingly through the gloom and dourness of the city. |
| More than 20 years after Vietnam began its doi moi market-based reforms, communist dourness is a dim memory. |
| In place of straight lines and dourness is a dashboard with hooded displays, flourishes of mock-aluminium and glossy black, a racy four-spoke steering wheel and a central control panel for everything media-related. |
| Whether through his own dourness, or the exhaustion of his rivals, the picture would alter dramatically on the flat. |
| There are days when I could do a hand-spring, if for nothing more than to shock my solemn old Dinky-Dunk out of his dourness. |
