weIl understood th

power

Operating behind veils of mystery

failed abysmally

always a hard man to figure out

beneath the indignation flowed new subterranean currents

a thing of the past, a topic for history students

tough resolve beneath suave civility

added to his eccentric image

he could perform no prosaic mortal labors but only advise.

He was a sphinx who kept his own counsel and never tipped his hand.

a respectful exchange of opinions

be clear about the agenda that is potentially fueling that person's point of view.

Portents of war [or insert any word] were visible everywhere—for those who cared to
see them.

folk wisdom

stupid-obvious navigation

highly transferable skill

sounding board for all their problems.

small and petty, with a mean little heart of stone

the towering figure

boyish grin that masked an obsessive intensity

linguistic wizardry

words struck a chord with me

transmogrified into a venal, snarling monster

my organizational demon liked having

Like many bright, obsessive people, Morrow was notoriously absentminded.

apply with especial force to

to lift finance above the muddy realm of politics and into the clear air

“He would have found other methods and other assistance; he was not the man to give
up.”
struggle tirelessly

tension-producing waste of time...similarly futile

a ruin that is total

a “nice clean boy” who didn’t drink, smoke, or see

girls

if you're a person of power and want to stay in that special class

lessons that can never be taken away from me

succumb to delusions of grandeur

performed spectacularly at 23 Wall and mastered every subject

through sheer diligence.

always torn between idealism and materialism. One life couldn’t

encompass his dreams, and he was tormented and made extremely nervous by
the choices he faced

self-delusional at best, sometime worse

the mind of a super-criminal and the character of a saint

natural habitat of Morgan men—the shadows

led their empire into oblivion

losing sight of distant dangers for the sake of present gain

resist the dangers of diffusio

Cool and dapper, he had been a Morgan sphinx, cloaked in mystery, working unseen in
the top

sphere of influence

secrecy was his unchanging creed

come in the guise

tighten their
hold

the inner workings were invisible to the world,

unprecedented wealth, veritable cornucopia

seemed a man from another era

wily bandit

didn’t descend lightly from Olympus

marks a considerable step towards independence

the bare-bones basics

a rite best conducted
in deep shadows

breadwinner in the family

narcissistic windbag
prone to extravagant metaphors and bombast,

start as a cynic, end as a grateful student

slapstick farce

a show of force

consider the matter trivial

and unworthy of your interest

conspire in secret

Learn to play the card of

navigating the swirling and treacherous narrows between the Scylla and Charybdis

incapable of learning from their mistakes

Once you have graduated elementary school, there is no excuse for this kind of
behavior.

hermetically sealed, august, manque,

the coup of a lifetime

infinitely more

Entire books could be written about

whose sheer arrogance/[insert quality] seemed to preserve him in adversity

philosopher-king, a man marked for an elusive greatness.

a figure of worldwide influence

mute your good qualitie

prince's mere presence made

a valuable lesson and the experience gained may be

turned to our future advantage.

unforgivable miscalculation

Never take your position for

granted

radiating power and brilliance, the center of attention

can prove fatal: Learn from Fouquet or pay the price/ is not only stupid, it is
fatal
the day you decide to rise above your inferior status

cold-blooded climb to the top

a man of intelligence and ambition.

time of peril

avaricious
for the perks of power.

Under
the illusion

seeking wealth and position

this way of thinking...a necessary life skill

If you yearn for power

Keep your objectiveat the forefront of your mind

time-consuming wild-goose ehases

pulled the wool over suckers'

eyes:

unreadable poker face

sound good but don’t actually work

nursing a grudge

an impressive, intimidating group of men

uneventful life

failed miserably

steady continuous effort is irresistible

the perfect ruse

quickly and definitively

wispy, , quiet, mild-mannered man had been able to take control

utmost politeness

What
devil's magie was this?

the front of a
gentle, peace-loving man,

bland and inconspicuous front that calls no attention

bland smiles and nondescript looks

saw its golden opportunity for revenge

bloody takeover struggle

night- black

“He was not interested in little matters, conducted or

proposed by little men.”

a completely self-invented
figure

a writer’s itch to record his thoughts and preserve them for posterity

position of power and prominence

gross imbalance of power...they could do little or nothing about it

cram a gigantic amount of work into a brief span...headlong pace, the frantic
reading into the night, the exhausting attempt

patrician aloofness, lesser mortals, tantalizing mystery, tower over, arch heresy,
a career of
permanent subordination and forelock tugging., silent tricks of authority.,

indispensable alter ego (bff),

misimpression you want to convey, —that

vanity alone cannot explain it.
project an air of unhurried calm

stellar win, hyperthropied craving for order, eyes

look slightly unfocused, as if telling of inner turmoil.

most
of us possess some gift, same talent, an ability to do something better than
other people.

he wore the tragic mask of an old

clown

telltale nervous habits

forward looking person

wise man from distant land who brings great knowledge

evangelist w/o history, a man from nowhere

enigmatic detachement, unwavering confidence in his own judgement,

discrepancy between inner and outer man

artfully manipulate the press to demonize your foes

slow to fathom the magnitude of gathering threat

short-sighted mortals who made a mistake of standing in his way

rara avis, a cultivated well-to-do man

The word exhibition didn’t capture its scope

a natural executive

darth-throwing monkey perfroms better than person who earns a living from it
(future forecasters)

boorish public-be-damned style

remote in body but not in spirit

common herd

impulses that guide choices, not long-term goals

an amazing tool for rebuilding self-worth.

a to-do list that's full of pragmatic questions

a slippery slope

ran into a host of obstacles

leapfrog you forward

it's amazing what happens to your self-confidence when you...

possessed by unruly spirits

"tell me the straight stuff. Don't sugarcoat anything

turned topsy-turvy.

men “who make their own rules and are not subject to examination”

the most unforgivable sin of all.

there's a way around every obstacle.

defensive everybody-is-doing-it kind of argument

small changes and listening as they accumulate into something amazing

ascended
to a new plateau of power, beyond what any other private businessman had yet
achieved

endlessly multiplied his power, towering figures (not a mice in the background),
obscure wizard whose power of work is astonishing, trying times,

steamroll over competition, redress imbalance by gambling, malcontent person

maddened by someone else's success, (acting in) dangerously capricious fashion,
completely misread someone's pyschology, bedrock beliefs, alarm bells will sound
the moment, date with destiny,
sinster baby face, close student of boss' psychology, spent a cliff-hanging time,
embodiment of power and purpose, from the ashes of failure arose, eternal bane,
carefully plot your moves,

plung into work with fanatic energy, deal a mortal blow, persistence that does not
recognize failure, strong believer in the idea,
premature white hair that gave him an air of wisdom

you've got eye-ache, ear-ache, head

ache,
neck-ache, back-ache, bum-ache, all the aches

don't mistake peaceful spirit for cowardice,

left my office with her feet barely touching the ground

triumph of language over logic

ideas generated by reading

Many people believe (because that is what they were taught)

desperate man who wishes to continue desperate remedies for a desperate situation

looked more bland than bold.

acting like a self-serving idiot

coming in before the sun rises and leaving when the stars are out

Lady Luck has intervened

bottomless hatred

A warm, stocky man with a ready,

avuncular smile, he lacked malevolence

absence of a clear design

would be its downfall

silence was his partner

seductive profits of takeovers clouded the firm’s strategic vision at a

critical moment.

a giddy sense of invulnerability.

all accelerator and no brake

hide behind clever and meaningless words

questioning things best left to the philosophers

the shifting ground suddenly turned to quicksand

relegate negativity to the dustbin, surface can be deceptive, bedeviled them for
years, Moody and isolated, taciturn and stony-faced,
To operate in the political shadows, to pass wraithlike through
a crisis and exert an unseen influence on large events—for Grenfell, these were
the perfections of his art

pandemonium had broken loose, incontestable power, grave anxiety, political skies
darkened,
a masterpiece of bad timing, two-faced opportunists., fail-safe

books and learning resources,

(it's less boring than it sounds),

a combination of fear, lethargy, and a lack of confidence or knowledge

fragile state of the human ego

avoid giving into the urges

pretty good rule

hide their incompetence behind professional terms and abbreviations

—the broad and open highway to financial ruin

shabby anticlimax to the bank’s once-glamorous relationship

icy politeness.

unidivided authority

hold your tongue

bite your tongue when necessary

creature of the shadows, private-club atmosphere

—tall, slim, iron gray head, very goodlooking and altogether charming—Miss Macey
regards him as dangerous both to men and women