"aplaws" hidden in books

And putting love away We shall

The bustle in a house The morning after death Is solemnest of industries Enacted upon earth, — The sweeping up the heart, And putting love away We shall not want to use again Until eternity.
— from Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete by Emily Dickinson

a privilege license authorize warrant sanction

V. permit; give permission &c. n., give power; let, allow, admit; suffer, bear with, tolerate, recognize; concede &c. 762; accord, vouchsafe, favor, humor, gratify, indulge, stretch a point; wink at, connive at; shut one's eyes to. grant, empower, charter, enfranchise, privilege, confer a privilege, license, authorize, warrant; sanction; intrust &c. (commission) 755. give carte blanche[Fr], give the reins to, give scope to &c. (freedom) 748; leave alone, leave it to one, leave the door open; open the door to, open the flood gates; give a loose to.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

a poor lookout and was surprised

He took post in a fence corner, but he kept a poor lookout and was surprised and taken prisoner by a squad of the enemy that had stolen a march on him.
— from The Strange Story of Harper's Ferry, with Legends of the Surrounding Country by Joseph Barry

air ports like angry wasps sang

But a shower of bullets drove them to cover, bullets that ripped the deck, splintered the superstructure, smashed the glass in the air ports, like angry wasps sang in a continuous whining chorus.
— from The Boy Scout and Other Stories for Boys by Richard Harding Davis

and perhaps lovely actress will strive

Is the play being performed on the stage—an experienced, conscientious, and perhaps lovely actress will strive her hardest to prove that the dramatist was right about Millicent's astounding fascination.
— from The Author's Craft by Arnold Bennett

and Pine Lea and was sheltered

Soon he came within sight of the shack which stood at the water's edge, mid-way between Aldercliffe and Pine Lea, and was sheltered from view by a grove of thick pines.
— from Ted and the Telephone by Sara Ware Bassett

and panting like a wounded stag

With laboring breast he forced his way through the thick underbrush; and, panting like a wounded stag, succeeded in reaching a glade from which he could see the railway, and over beyond it, through the tree-tops, the broad surface of the lake, glittering in the moonlight.
— from In Paradise: A Novel. Vol. II by Paul Heyse

This tab, called Hiding in Plain Sight, shows you passages from notable books where your word is accidentally (or perhaps deliberately?) spelled out by the first letters of consecutive words. Why would you care to know such a thing? It's not entirely clear to us, either, but it's fun to explore! What's the longest hidden word you can find? Where is your name hiding?

Color thesaurus

Literary notes

Word games