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utmost
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  • Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face, was Professor McGonagall.†   (source)
  • For three hours—until six o'clock—he persisted in the same inexorable vein: that Judge Fielding's admonitions should be heeded with the utmost seriousness and that reasonable doubt existed.†   (source)
  • Randolph White had been the headmaster of a small private day school in Lake Forest, Illinois; I'm told that is a super-rich and exclusively WASP community that does its utmost to pretend it is not a suburb of Chicago—but that may be unfair; I've never been there.†   (source)
  • It gives me the utmost pleasure to present to you a performance like no other in history!†   (source)
  • Security was always a top priority for his employer, but today, more than any other day in the past twelve years, security was of the utmost importance.†   (source)
  • Traditional dining tables have been replaced by innumerable stuffed sofas and chairs, some surrounding fireplaces, others beside fragrant flower gardens or ponds filled with exotic fish, so that people can eat and drink and do whatever they please in the utmost comfort.†   (source)
  • He has personally assured His Highness of the utmost safety of the Delphie base.†   (source)
  • In these seven years he would have climbed to the utmost heights.†   (source)
  • You're to hold this information in utmost secrecy.†   (source)
  • He leaped up the steps to join us, as if he'd long been anticipating this meeting with the utmost glee.†   (source)
  • Klaus stared at the ceiling with the utmost concentration, as if something very interesting were written on it, but nothing helpful occurred to him as the hour grew later and later.†   (source)
  • But in a week's time she had stretched her memory to the utmost, and Pilgrim had traveled all the way from the Slough of Despond to the Celestial City.†   (source)
  • He greeted them with the utmost courtesy.†   (source)
  • DANFORTH: I shall do my utmost.†   (source)
  • Stopping time wasn't just a matter of pressing the on button: there was a series of delicate procedures that had to be performed with utmost precision.†   (source)
  • By that time German officers and soldiers were fleeing, doing their utmost to avoid capture by the rapidly approaching Soviet army.†   (source)
  • "With utmost respect for your father," General Doppel said.†   (source)
  • The data is of the utmost importance," I say, trying to sound as arrogant as some of the Erudite I've met.†   (source)
  • I did my utmost to avoid this work.†   (source)
  • Like Ashoke, busy with his teaching and research and dissertation seven days a week, she, too, now has something to occupy her fully, to demand her utmost devotion, her last ounce of strength.†   (source)
  • Granted, no Awer suited for military service exhibited her house's tendencies to their utmost extent.†   (source)
  • He had never met the Witch before he knew her only by reputation but he knew she needed to be treated with the utmost caution.†   (source)
  • In March Burnham ordered Dion Geraldine, his chief construction superintendent, to press the matter "with the utmost vigor and see that no delay occurs."†   (source)
  • when, if a flood arrives, one knows one must let go of one's child, contrary to all the instincts one had when one was younger, because holding on can no longer offer the child protection, it can only pull the child down, and threaten them with drowning, for the child is now stronger than the parent, and the circumstances are such that the utmost of strength is required, and the arc of a child's life only appears for a while to match the arc of a parent's, in reality one sits atop the other, a hill atop a hill, a curve atop a curve, and Saeed's father's arc now needed to curve lower, while his son's still curved higher, for with an old man hampering them these two young people were simpl†   (source)
  • The bishop arrived, and the delightful daughters strained themselves to the utmost not to comment on his nose.†   (source)
  • Of course, when we'd tried that before, we ended up slaughtering an entire giant family after they attempted to squash us like bugs, but it had all been done with the utmost courtesy.†   (source)
  • Arbatov lied with the utmost sincerity.†   (source)
  • Like these were important people, the most important people, and their opinions should be of utmost importance to me.†   (source)
  • Her entourage of cultural officials stood beside her with expressions of the utmost admiration and respect.†   (source)
  • It is greeted with the utmost shock.†   (source)
  • As we journeyed, Alice told me it was of the utmost importance that I say nothing to Jacob about seeing her until I spoke to you.†   (source)
  • Stooped and half-blind, but still energetic, the old woman came and went between the kitchen and the dining room, bearing the enormous platters with the utmost solemnity.†   (source)
  • The book had been written during those feverish days at Sandhamn in September and October, and in great haste and under the utmost secrecy it was printed by Hallvigs Reklam in Morgongava.†   (source)
  • He knew that each dish was prepared with the utmost care, that the elves lavished all of their culinary skill upon his meals, and that not even Islanzadi ate better than him.†   (source)
  • That is something I've learned to have the utmost assurance of and faith in—His daily, weekly, monthly, total and eternal plan for our lives.†   (source)
  • It is of the utmost importance to the Society that the Matches be as optimal as possible.†   (source)
  • Ursula ordered a mourning period of closed doors and windows, with no one entering or leaving except on matters of utmost necessity.†   (source)
  • You do not see why I should be preserved as someone of the utmost value to you.†   (source)
  • He said it with the utmost confidence, which made the shock on his face when I lunged at him that much sweeter.†   (source)
  • It is, of course, the responsibility of every butler to devote his utmost care in the devising of a staff plan.†   (source)
  • People expect doctor to go about things with the utmost seriousness, skill and experience.†   (source)
  • We are harder than anyone at these detention centers and let me tell you, we treat these guys with the utmost professionalism.†   (source)
  • She made this pronouncement with the utmost coolness and Vivaldo began to see, for the first time, how deadly it must be for Richard, now, to deal with a woman like Cass.†   (source)
  • With utmost care he weighed one option against another.†   (source)
  • Only a matter of the utmost urgency could take me away.†   (source)
  • At the utmost they had "seed him a good deal a while ago, but he'd sorter quit riding up this-a-way of late.†   (source)
  • "Your warlock does realize," she said, "that Jonathan is a witness of utmost importance to the Clave?"†   (source)
  • The power of the empire would be "exerted to the utmost," he wrote.†   (source)
  • No matter what your responsibility in the affair, society has an interest in seeing you use your abilities to the utmost.†   (source)
  • Gripping the bough above with both hands, Milo began inching his way out on the limb sideways with utmost care and apprehension.†   (source)
  • Me he treats "with the utmost respect and reverence" because "I am a member of the superior sex."†   (source)
  • Until that time, we would appreciate your absolute silence and utmost discretion in this matter.†   (source)
  • My apologies, Captain," said Mr. Black, "but we need to requisition your ship for reasons of the utmost urgency, hence the regrettable lack of formality."†   (source)
  • My dearest daughter, I am sorry to tell you on such short notice but duty calls me elsewhere, and duty to the Crown is of the utmost importance, as I'm sure you would agree.†   (source)
  • All the sex is his carpe diem way of living life to the utmost.†   (source)
  • And while I am pledged to do my utmost to bring these people comfort, from you and your wife, and from Miss Bradford, the smallest gesture would mean so much more.†   (source)
  • She at least listened to his claim that he, one, had information of utmost importance to U.S. interests, and, two, he had to get that information to the right party immediately.†   (source)
  • On March 13 Willis urged his colleagues to move with "utmost haste" in creating legislation to honor "the all but unbelievable valor" of the Marines in the Pacific.†   (source)
  • I had the utmost respect for Tomas.†   (source)
  • They connive, and complain and frustrate one to the utmost.†   (source)
  • Bit by bit, straining my short patience to its utmost limit, the story of Hiram Wallace emerged.†   (source)
  • And there was utmost irony and outrage in lying under someone, in a position of surrender, feeling her own abiding strength and limitless power.†   (source)
  • And I was forced to the utmost degradation because I possessed skilled hands and the belief that my knowledge could bring me dignity-not wealth, only dignity-and other men health!†   (source)
  • It was a matter of the utmost importance and I required her counsel.†   (source)
  • There was speculation in the press that the movement was going to attempt to rescue me, and the authorities were doing their utmost to prevent it.†   (source)
  • Brian treated Carter with utmost care—he was head of The Vigils.†   (source)
  • And it is of utmost importance that the newspapers get no word about it.†   (source)
  • For this reason, two things were of the utmost importance.†   (source)
  • I tried my very hardest, straining sensitivity to its utmost, but there was nothing — or as near nothing as the shimmer of a heat-haze.†   (source)
  • You have my utmost respect, mighty demon.†   (source)
  • Everything was done in the utmost secrecy by a handful of master pyromancers.†   (source)
  • We most earnestly recommend to you calmness and unanimity in this great and weighty affair, that the union may be brought to a happy conclusion, being the only effectual way to secure our present and future happiness, and disappoint the designs of our and your enemies, who will ...use their utmost endeavors to prevent or delay this union.†   (source)
  • Yes, thieves and pickpockets were very skilful; one needed to exercise the utmost care.†   (source)
  • But there was one letter of utmost interest to me.†   (source)
  • I lived in the utmost luxury.†   (source)
  • The reply came back promptly, six days later: UNABLE UNDERSTAND YOUR DIFFICULTIES STOP YOUR INSTRUCTIONS ARE PERFECTLY CLEAR STOP IF CAREFULLY FOLLOWED NO DIFFICULTIES SHOULD DEVELOP STOP WHEN SENDING COMMERCIAL RADIO MESSAGES TO THIS DEPARTMENT YOU ARE INSTRUCTED TO RESTRICT YOURSELF TO MATTERS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES REPEAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THESE MESSAGES BE LONGER THAN TEN WORDS STOP EXPECT INTERIM PROGRESS REPORT WITHIN TWO WEEKS BY WHICH TIME IT IS ANTICIPATED YOU SHOULD HAVE ESTABLISHED CLOSE CONTACT WITH CANIS LUPUS STOP RADIO MESSAGES AT DEPARTMENTAL EXPENSE SHOULD BE RESTRICTED TO TEN WORDS AN†   (source)
  • In town I registered at the Georgia Hotel, a luxury hotel, where I was treated with the utmost suspicion and discourtesy.†   (source)
  • He reached up with his free hand, and using the utmost delicacy, plucked a little something from the edge of her upper lip; it was, she realized, a crumb of the chocolate she had eaten, now held between his thumb and forefinger, and she watched with grave wonder as he moved his tar-stained fingers slowly toward his lips and deposited the tiny chestnut-brown flake into his mouth.†   (source)
  • Trying for my utmost, I wrote it in the first person.†   (source)
  • And I want to say I know you do the best you can too, or anyway some of you do, and I have the utmost confidence that the people of Batavia will not go off half-cocked about a lot of false rumors.†   (source)
  • The idea came to me that I should fix him with a look of the utmost hostility and say, 'The job I want is your job.†   (source)
  • Such aids had been used to the utmost when the Colony was planned.†   (source)
  • At the same time he did his utmost to delay the train, which was bringing up the Cossacks summoned to Biriuchi.†   (source)
  • I've no time for priests who do their utmost to get you to church, just to prevent you from working, and earning your daily bread by the sweat of your brow.†   (source)
  • He prepared his speeches with the utmost care, but seldom wrote them out in a prepared text.†   (source)
  • The new regime will maintain the utmost respect for principles, both Islamic and democratic.†   (source)
  • He was staring down at Ludo Bagman with an expression of the utmost severity and dislike.†   (source)
  • I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety.†   (source)
  • As my children, they were inherently inclined to the utmost grace.†   (source)
  • 'Didn't work that well, though, did it?' said Harry, doing his utmost to keep his voice even.†   (source)
  • It seemed of utmost urgency to Laila, suddenly, that she not stir or make a noise.†   (source)
  • I gave it my utmost effort, channeling all the saccharine schmaltz I could muster from the 1970s.†   (source)
  • For you, of all people, the subject is of the utmost importance!†   (source)
  • I've tried and tried, I've always given you the benefit of the doubt, I've given you the utmost ...†   (source)
  • Thus, the Count switched the projector back on while Osip paid his utmost attention to the screen.†   (source)
  • "It was an expression of utmost indifference," a reporter for the Philadelphia Public Ledger said.†   (source)
  • Ron was sitting up in bed, the hangings torn from one side, a look of utmost terror on his face.†   (source)
  • Sirius and Snape were eyeing each other with the utmost loathing.†   (source)
  • I will treat your treasures with the utmost respect and care.†   (source)
  • With the utmost gravity, he said, "Then let us kill the two of you."†   (source)
  • The curious thing was that both she and everybody else took it with the utmost calm.†   (source)
  • "I have been proceeding with the utmost caution," he says.†   (source)
  • On Harry's left, Hermione sat up a little straighter, her expression one of utmost attention.†   (source)
  • Yes, Alexander, it behooves us to study this phenomenon with the utmost diligence and care.†   (source)
  • He may have exerted himself to the utmost to lose sight of us.†   (source)
  • Then, very slowly, his grin sagged and vanished, to be replaced by an expression of utmost horror.†   (source)
  • But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.†   (source)
  • He looked at his phone with the utmost suspicion and took out his mobile.†   (source)
  • I know you will treat them with the utmost courtesy, as is due and proper.†   (source)
  • However, she had to proceed with the utmost caution.†   (source)
  • The Boston Gazette reported Virginia in a state of "utmost consternation."†   (source)
  • "Point them toward it graciously and with the utmost subtlety," I finished.†   (source)
  • Let me be honest with you-a feat which, by the way, I find of the utmost difficulty.†   (source)
  • ...But remember, my intelligent Nephew, everything must be kept in utmost secrecy.†   (source)
  • But we must tread carefully, for this is a situation of the utmost delicacy.†   (source)
  • I assure you that I will exercise the utmost discretion.†   (source)
  • The long column moved with utmost silence and extremely slowly.†   (source)
  • In any case, confidentiality is of the utmost.†   (source)
  • You asked me not to seek you out, but it is of the utmost importance.†   (source)
  • The state did its utmost to harass me in ways they thought I would be powerless to resist.†   (source)
  • For as it was, the troops had the utmost difficulty to restrain the mob.†   (source)
  • Our discussion will not be long, but will require the utmost concentration.†   (source)
  • THE SHOCK OF DISCOVERY threw the British into "utmost consternation."†   (source)
  • "Gorgon, we must leave with the utmost haste," I say.†   (source)
  • But it all had to be taken with utmost seriousness.†   (source)
  • It was being produced in the utmost secrecy, with only a few people involved.†   (source)
  • And I do not think the Varden will achieve victory unless everyone does their utmost to help them.†   (source)
  • Adams and Pickering were said to "hate each other with the utmost cordiality."†   (source)
  • It is of the utmost importance that we obtain answers to the necessary questions.†   (source)
  • After that progress came only with "the utmost difficulty."†   (source)
  • I have the utmost respect for your educational work.†   (source)
  • I should try to think bigger, beyond our current situation where I am of the utmost importance, to the future where I may be worth nothing.†   (source)
  • A diagnosis of latent insanity at the time of the murders, for instance however, the utmost caution and rectitude must be observed.†   (source)
  • Mother was bustling about the living room, Father was practising his violin and I was sitting in an armchair reading, when some inconsequential programme was suddenly interrupted and a voice said that an announcement of the utmost importance was about to be made.†   (source)
  • Paul crouched, realizing then that he had no shield, but was trained to fighting with its subtle field around him, trained to react on defense with utmost speed while his attack would be timed to the controlled slowness necessary for penetrating the enemy's shield.†   (source)
  • People like running back Warrick Dunn and linebacker Derrick Brooks, both of whom I have the utmost respect for and have looked to as role models for how to live life.†   (source)
  • She opened the door with the utmost caution and stuck her head out just as a tiny crouched figure was moving down the hall.†   (source)
  • With utmost respect, I suggest...couldn't Her Imperial Viciousness imagine the newly written pages instead of having me write them for her?†   (source)
  • Placing her hands underneath the table, she unwrapped three peppermints, using the utmost—the word "utmost," when it is used here, means "most"—care not to make any of those crinkling noises that come from unwrapping candy and are so annoying in movie theaters.†   (source)
  • Though she was wary of the herbalist, she knew that Angela had helped the Varden with matters of the utmost delicacy and importance-like healing Eragon-and had asked for nothing in return.†   (source)
  • All was served and presented with the utmost simplicity by the old servants of the house, who wore their everyday black aprons to give the celebration the appearance of a simple family gathering, because any display of extravagance was a sign of vulgarity that would be condemned as a sin of vanity and bad taste, according to the austere and somewhat lugubrious ancestry of that society descended from hard-working Basque and Spanish immigrants.†   (source)
  • He passes it over her face, down her throat; then he adds the left hand, the sinister hand, using both together, tenderly, as if picking a lock of the utmost fragility, a lock made of silk.†   (source)
  • He said he would plead my case to the utmost of his ability, because whatever the truth of the matter I was little more than a child at the time, and he supposed it came down to free will and whether or not one held with it.†   (source)
  • Each wore an expression of utmost contempt, yet the unexpected entrance of so many witnesses seemed to have brought them to their senses.†   (source)
  • In that beautiful enterprise the prodigal city had put forth her utmost strength and, having shown the world the supreme flower of her energy, had collapsed....The city's huge garment was too large for it; miles of empty stores, hotels, flat-buildings, showed its shrunken state.†   (source)
  • If the truth be told, having made such a fuss about attentiveness, the Count did not pay his utmost attention to the progress of the movie.†   (source)
  • The next day McKim wrote to a friend in Paris of the deepening consensus among himself, Burnham, and most of Chicago that the fair was too wonderful a thing to be allowed simply to fall into disrepair after its official closure on October 30, just six days thence: "indeed it is the ambition of all concerned to have it swept away in the same magical manner in which it appeared, and with the utmost despatch.†   (source)
  • Neither of these things had much to do with the fact that he'd been murdered, but I did my utmost, especially with the morals; and it's a fact that those four people kept popping in and out of one another's beds like a French farce, so that it was hard to keep it straight who was sleeping where.†   (source)
  • And with a look of the utmost satisfaction, Umbridge left the room, leaving a horrified silence in her wake.†   (source)
  • I have done my utmost to have him thrown out of Hogwarts, where I believe he scarcely belongs, but kill him, or allow him to be killed in front of me?†   (source)
  • My Son is at present making a tour of Private Mental Asylums and Clinics in Europe, an investigation very necessary to the work he is engaged upon — work of the utmost significance, which will alleviate human suffering, and which must not be interrupted for any lesser considerations, however pressing these may appear to others who do not understand the importance of his mission.†   (source)
  • Dumbledore moved closer to the water; Harry watched nervously as the tips of Dumbledore's buckled shoes found the utmost edge of the rock rim.†   (source)
  • And the Count could confirm that Osip approached the task with the utmost diligence and care, for when a movie was playing he could hardly sit still.†   (source)
  • He punched his pillow into a more comfortable shape and waited for sleep to come, trying his utmost not to allow his thoughts to stray anywhere near Ginny.†   (source)
  • In fact, because we have evolved as a species to pay the utmost attention to that which is just beyond our reach, these men are likely to dwell on the splendors of Moscow more than any Muscovite who is at liberty to enjoy them.†   (source)
  • So with utmost attention, he watched as Rick disregarded Ugarte's pleas for help; he saw the saloonkeeper's expression remain cool and aloof when the police dragged Ugarte from his lapels; but then, as Rick began making his way through the disconcerted crowd toward the piano player, something caught Viktor's eye.†   (source)
  • At my utmost.†   (source)
  • Hadn't he rhapsodized over how the constellations seemed to halt in their course when on a warm summer's night one lay on one's back and listened for footsteps in the grass—as if nature itself were conspiring to lengthen the last few hours before daybreak, so that they could be savored to the utmost?†   (source)
  • But Anna's return to the stage also proved fortunate for the Count because instead of visiting the Metropol a few days a year, she was now in residence for months at a time, which allowed our seasoned astronomer to chart the newest of her constellations with the utmost care.... Once the Count and Sofia had been seated, the two carefully studied their menus (working backward from entrées to appetizers as was their custom), placed their orders with Martyn (who, at the Count's recommendation, had been promoted to the Boyarsky in 1942), and then finally turned their attention to the business at hand.†   (source)
  • At the bottom of a kaleidoscope's cylinder lie shards of colored glass in random arrangement; but thanks to a glint of sunlight, the interplay of mirrors, and the magic of symmetry, when one peers inside what one finds is a pattern so colorful, so perfectly intricate, it seems certain to have been designed with the utmost care.†   (source)
  • "Absolutely right, Officer," replied Jason, trying his utmost to control the painful heaving in his chest, his eyes straying to the wounded killer-he had disappeared!†   (source)
  • The only option left was to strive their utmost and hope that, somehow, it would be enough to wrest victory from the mistakes of his incompetence.†   (source)
  • Capturing Lee's army is of the utmost importance, but both men also believe that a Confederacy without a capital is a doomsday scenario for the rebels.†   (source)
  • He knew that if the Director ordered Ben Polk to acquire the gae bolga, the Agent would instantly do his utmost.†   (source)
  • "I shall afford your charges the utmost care, Mademoiselle LeFarge," he answers, and her face softens.†   (source)
  • For saving me from that fate, and for repairing Roran's shoulder, you have my utmost thanks, but more than that, you have my thanks for bringing the two of us back together again.†   (source)
  • Then he backed out of the driveway with the utmost caution, doing what I counted to be at least an eight-point turn to avoid driving on the grass.†   (source)
  • She will be joining us from time to time, however, and will receive your utmost respect and attention when she is here.†   (source)
  • Such a power of projection as she had was unheard of without special training — she was a discovery of the utmost importance.†   (source)
  • In the last few weeks, he had come to realize (half sadly, half laughing to himself) that he had grown physically tired (he had one, sometimes two erotic engagements a day), and that although he had not lost his zest for women, he found himself straining his forces to the utmost.†   (source)
  • A fast-walking soldier, even one on a mission of the utmost military importance, is obviously no match for a cavalry horse.†   (source)
  • Sergeant Knight knew all about Majorca, and so did Orr, because Yossarian had told them often of such sanctuaries as Spain, Switzerland and Sweden where American fliers could be interned for the duration of the war under conditions of utmost ease and luxury merely by flying there.†   (source)
  • I don't want Lisbeth Salander to be harmed when you apprehend her ...but yes, in her case I would try to make sure the arrest is carried out with the utmost circumspection.†   (source)
  • He has been thinking quite a bit about martyrs lately and has become fond of quoting a verse by Irish poet Thomas Davis: We thought you would not die—we were sure you would not go; And leave us in our utmost need to Cromwell's cruel blow—Sheep without a shepherd when the snow shuts out the sky—Oh, why did you leave us, Eoghan?†   (source)
  • Now, my mother was smiling for the cameras and shaking hands with her superintendents with the utmost composure as mean-looking dark clouds began to scoot against the sky.†   (source)
  • There had been a time when the self-interest of his employers had demanded that he exercise his utmost ability.†   (source)
  • She began softly, as though singing to herself of emotions of utmost privacy, a sound not addressed to the gathering, but which they overheard almost against her will.†   (source)
  • No. When you strain your energy to its utmost in order to produce the best, do you expect to be rewarded for it or punished?†   (source)
  • It was ANC policy to try to educate all people, even our enemies: we believed that all men, even prison service warders, were capable of change, and we did our utmost to try to sway them.†   (source)
  • The great butlers are great by virtue of their ability to inhabit their professional role and inhabit it to the utmost; they will not be shaken out by external events, however surprising, alarming or vexing.†   (source)
  • She insisted that she was the only one who might stop this terrible plan, and she wrote long into the night on a secret tome which she said was of the utmost importance.†   (source)
  • My father's feelings towards the General were, naturally, those of utmost loathing; but he realized too that his employer's present business aspirations hung on the smooth running of the house party — which with some eighteen or so people expected would be no trifling affair.†   (source)
  • "I realize that privacy," continued the official, pronouncing the word as privvissy, "is of utmost importance-that's been explained to us-but whenever we can be of assistance, we try to oblige the Crown."†   (source)
  • You had to act on your own judgment, you had to have the capacity to judge, the courage to stand on the verdict of your mind, and the purest, the most ruthless consecration to the rule of doing right, of doing the best, the utmost best possible to you.†   (source)
  • Eragon pushed himself to the utmost as he dueled with Varaug, striving to anticipate the Shade's every move, but he knew that their contest could only end with his own defeat.†   (source)
  • The decision was Washington's alone and he promised unequivocally "to exert myself to the utmost to frustrate the designs of the enemy."†   (source)
  • Eragon almost mentioned Oromis's comments to Arya but held his tongue, for he realized that Oromis would not have concealed such an important fact for over a hundred years unless secrecy was of the utmost importance.†   (source)
  • There being as yet no national constitution, the form of government chosen by each of the states was a matter of utmost gravity.†   (source)
  • And it is with the utmost conviction that I say that the Section will never find itself in such an exposed position again.†   (source)
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