"flab" hidden in books

figure like a beer

Romeo was a stout elderly gentleman, with corked eyebrows, a husky tragedy voice, and a figure like a beer-barrel.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Figure let AG BH

In the twenty third Figure let AG, BH, CJ, DK, EL, FM be the Circles which so many sorts of Rays flowing from the same disque of [Pg 65] the Sun, do in the third Experiment illuminate; of all which and innumerable other intermediate ones lying in a continual Series between the two rectilinear and parallel edges of the Sun's oblong Image PT, that Image is compos'd, as was explained in the fifth Experiment.
— from Opticks Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light by Isaac Newton

for liquor and being

Perhaps the craving for excessive flavoring is an olfactory delirium, a pathological case, as yet unfathomed like the excessive craving for liquor, and, being a problem for the medical fraternity, it is only of secondary importance to gastronomy.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius

for learning as being

“I admire your desire for learning, as being a true object for the wishes of mankind, and one too that tends to their advantage.
— from The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius

forward like a black

Th' masters keep th' state o' trade in their own hands; and just walk it forward like a black bug-a-boo, to frighten naughty children with into being good.
— from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

father led away by

“My deduction is,” replied Villefort, “that my father, led away by his passions, has committed some fault unknown to human justice, but marked by the justice of God.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated by Alexandre Dumas

first love and between

But the Popular Daughter becomes engaged every six months between sixteen and twenty-two, when she arranges a match with young Hambell, of Cambell & Hambell, who fatuously considers himself her first love, and between engagements the P. D. (she is selected by the cut-in system at dances, which favors the survival of the fittest) has other sentimental last kisses in the moonlight, or the firelight, or the outer darkness.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald

feel like a Bank

Soothed by my exertions, my method, and Herbert's compliments, I would sit with his symmetrical bundle and my own on the table before me among the stationary, and feel like a Bank of some sort, rather than a private individual.
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

face legs and back

She was grateful to him for his attention to her father and mother; she esteemed him for his moral and religious conduct; [Pg 114] she pitied him for his misfortunes, and she finished with forgetting his face, legs, and back in her admiration of what she supposed to be his mind.
— from Vikram and the Vampire; or, Tales of Hindu Devilry by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

front line and by

The 154th Brigade on the left hand also occupied the enemy’s front line, and by 5.30 P.M. were patrolling towards Gavrelle.
— from The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918 by F. W. (Frederick William) Bewsher

for lo and behold

But the truth is, it turned out to be as Tommie said, a “her chameleon,” for lo! and behold it was discovered one morning that Chammy had laid some eggs.
— from Shireen and her Friends: Pages from the Life of a Persian Cat by Gordon Stables

for larger and better

In 1909 he accompanied a strong deputation, and presented an influentially signed memorial to the Board of Education, pleading for larger and better accommodation for the unique and almost priceless exhibits of historically important objects which the museum possesses, some of which are absolutely irreplaceable.
— from The Right Honourable Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe P.C., D.C.L., F.R.S. A Biographical Sketch by T. E. (Thomas Edward) Thorpe

fellows like a bunch

Such a jolly lot of fellows, like a bunch of kids; teasing and calling jokes back and forth at one another half the night until daybreak, everything raw and chilly.
— from The Flying Mercury by Eleanor M. (Eleanor Marie) Ingram

four large apples boil

Baked Apple Pudding —Pare and quarter four large apples; boil them tender with the rind of a lemon, in so little water, that when done, none may remain; beat them quite fine in a mortar; add the crumbs of a small roll, four ounces of butter melted, the yolks of five, and whites of three eggs, juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste: beat all together, and lay it in a dish with paste to turn out.
— from Barkham Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 by Barkham Burroughs

flashing lightning and beholding

And whilst they stood uncertain, God kindled up the sky with flashing lightning; and beholding the vessel as if it had been noonday, they saw that it was indeed a Breton ship.
— from Breton Legends Translated from the French by Anonymous

forth leaves and bear

Therefore, O thou tree, be verdant, blossom, put forth leaves and bear beautiful fruits in this most Supreme Paradise!
— from Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas by `Abdu'l-Bahá

fluting like a bird

Forming in a close circle about her, the children lifted her dress-skirt by the border and held it outspread, while Pilarica, on the outside, danced round and round the ring, fluting like a bird: “Who are these chatterers?
— from In Sunny Spain with Pilarica and Rafael by Katharine Lee Bates

finish like a bear

Even then, taken at an advantage, with two much younger men against him, the big jailer fought to the finish like a bear.
— from Mavericks by William MacLeod Raine

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?

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