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Romance at short notice was her speciality.
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“Romance at short notice was her speciality.”

Saki

Source
The Open Window
Date
1914
Meaning

Meaning of “Romance at short notice was her speciality.”

The closing sentence reveals Vera’s instant invention of another plausible story, turning the tale’s deception into a compact joke about her talent for improvisation.

Source context

Where does it come from?

“The Open Window,” collected in Beasts and Super-Beasts, Project Gutenberg #269. The line follows Vera’s invented explanation for Framton Nuttel’s terrified departure; it is comic fictional narration about a deceptive storyteller.

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ArtCommunicationCreativityFunnyShortWritingCharacterImagination
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“Why is a raven like a writing-desk?”

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Voice: Fictional character · Mad Hatter
Meaning & context

The riddle is memorable because it originally arrives without a practical answer, making nonsense itself part of the social game at the tea party.

Source details

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 7; the Mad Hatter asks Alice the famous riddle at the tea party.

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As to the Adjective: when in doubt, strike it out.
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“As to the Adjective: when in doubt, strike it out.”

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Voice: Epigraph / fictional source voice · Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar
Meaning & context

The mock rule is comic in its bluntness but also functions as concise writing advice: unnecessary modifiers can weaken direct expression when the writer is unsure they earn their place.

Source details

Pudd’nhead Wilson, Chapter XI epigraph; the sentence follows the three-part author compliment in the Calendar sequence.

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The surest way to stop writing about Rome is to stop.
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“The surest way to stop writing about Rome is to stop.”

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Meaning & context

The deliberately obvious sentence mocks the difficulty of ending an overfull account when a subject offers more material than the writer can organize.

Source details

The Innocents Abroad (1869), Chapter XXVIII. Near the close of the long Rome discussion Twain says that the surest way to stop writing about Rome is to stop, immediately before abandoning his attempted guide-book chapter. Verified against the scan-backed 1869 first edition.

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Must get the scraper removed, or else I shall get into a scrape. I don’t often make jokes.
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“Must get the scraper removed, or else I shall get into a scrape. I don’t often make jokes.”

George Grossmith and Weedon Grossmith · The Diary of a Nobody · 1892
Voice: Fictional narrator · Charles Pooter
Meaning & context

The deliberately weak pun is followed by Pooter’s proud announcement that he rarely jokes, making his satisfaction with the line more comic than the wordplay itself.

Source details

The Diary of a Nobody, Chapter I, April 4 entry; Project Gutenberg #1026. After Cummings trips over the scraper while leaving, Charles Pooter writes “Must get the scraper removed, or else I shall get into a scrape. I don’t often make jokes.” The deliberately weak pun and Pooter’s pride in it are part of the novel’s characterization and comic timing.

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Omit needless words.
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“Omit needless words.”

William Strunk Jr. · The Elements of Style · 1920
Meaning & context

Conciseness is treated as removal of words that do no useful work, not as a demand that every sentence be short or stripped of necessary detail.

Source details

The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 13, Project Gutenberg #37134; the surrounding paragraph explicitly says detail need not be eliminated.

Source identified
Use the active voice.
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“Use the active voice.”

William Strunk Jr. · The Elements of Style · 1920
Meaning & context

The rule favors direct sentence construction when it makes agency clearer, while the surrounding discussion still allows passive voice when context requires it.

Source details

The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 10, Project Gutenberg #37134; Strunk immediately qualifies the rule by noting legitimate uses of passive construction.