"spla" hidden in books

some pleasant liquor and

Shall we lay her on a bed of down; introduce a singer; 111 shall we burn cedar, or present here with some pleasant liquor, and provide her something to eat?
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations Also, Treatises On The Nature Of The Gods, And On The Commonwealth by Marcus Tullius Cicero

saw people looking askance

And as I continued to walk up and down, and saw people looking askance at me upon the street or out of windows, and nudging or speaking one to another with smiles, I began to take a fresh apprehension: that it might be no easy matter even to come to speech of the lawyer, far less to convince him of my story.
— from Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

skin protrusion like a

n a k.o. skin protrusion like a pasù, n 1, in appearance, having a clear liquid content, caused by the bite of a mite found in loose, powdery soil.
— from A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan by John U. Wolff

speak plainly lisping at

For I love to see a little child, who is not of an age to speak plainly, lisping at his play; there is an appearance of grace and freedom in his utterance, which is natural to his childish years.
— from Gorgias by Plato

said patiently like a

She said patiently, like a cowed child, “I'm afraid—to go into the dark, all alone!”
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis

supplied plot language and

" Her theatrical experience and miscellaneous reading were of service now, for they gave her some idea of dramatic effect, and supplied plot, language, and costumes.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

soldier pirate lover and

Digby, whose name, according to one biographer, "is almost synonymous with genius and eccentricity," [2] could claim our attention not only as a scientist of talent, but also as a statesman, soldier, pirate, lover, and a Roman Catholic possessed of sufficient piety and naked courage to attempt the conversion of Oliver Cromwell.
— from Medical Investigation in Seventeenth Century England Papers Read at a Clark Library Seminar, October 14, 1967 by Lester S. (Lester Snow) King

Sir Philip like a

[Pg 152] When the presentations commenced, Sir Philip, "like a doating mallard," waddled after the unfurled train of "his darling duckie," (by which endearing name he familiarly styled my Lady Fumbally,) it so happened that in discharging this uxorious task he tripped up fairly, or rather foully, his lady's train, and by which losing his equipoise, the worthy knight was very nearly tripped up himself.
— from The Eve of All-Hallows; Or, Adelaide of Tyrconnel, v. 1 of 3 by Matthew Weld Hartstonge

SIR PETER LAURIE acknowledged

SIR PETER LAURIE acknowledged himself equally in debt with their gallant Chairman to the object of the present meeting.
— from Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, Complete by Various

she pursued like a

Ireland remained a hot-bed of Yorkist sympathies, and Ireland was zealously aided by Edward IV.'s sister, Margaret of Burgundy; she pursued, like a vendetta, the family quarrel with Henry VII., and earned the title of Henry's Juno by harassing him as vindictively as the Queen of Heaven vexed the pious Æneas.
— from Henry VIII. by A. F. (Albert Frederick) Pollard

she pondered long and

On her cot in the corner she pondered long and earnestly.
— from The Trail of a Sourdough Life in Alaska by May Kellogg Sullivan

strong Protestant leaven and

This still strong Protestant leaven, and the long infiltration of German manners and customs has doubtless greatly modified the character of the inhabitants, who, whether belonging to the one denomination or the other, live side by side harmoniously.
— from Holidays in Eastern France by Matilda Betham-Edwards

smoke Pacey looked as

There was silence for a few moments, during which, as he sat shaggy and frowning in the smoke, Pacey looked as if some magician were gradually turning his head into that of a lion.
— from The Tiger Lily by George Manville Fenn

seem perfectly level all

Although these curious spots seem perfectly level, all those in this direction have a gentle slope to the northeast: thither the rain-water, which sometimes covers them, gently gravitates.
— from Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa by David Livingstone

Some people like a

Some people like a poncho.
— from Camp and Trail by Stewart Edward White

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