“Bening plays the spirited Sue Barlow, a spinster waiting to meet the right man.”

“His cantankerous old mother and frustrated spinster sister are a constant drain on his increasingly shaky resources.”

“Physically, she brilliantly embodied the shrewd, sharp-eyed, owlish spinster, while also conveying her intuitive acumen and razor-sharp mind.”

“Or perhaps, in a more generous mood, you'd have her turning 40 and sinking gracefully into the silent oblivion of confirmed spinsterhood.”

“With the exception of Emma Woodhouse, all the Heroines are penniless and have no dependable prospect other than comfortless spinsterhood.”

“India and the colonies may absorb a good many, though these places also do duty in the absorption of spinsterhood.”

“Grindley, partner of Birmingham City Council spinstress Debra Davis, is, according to my spies, down to a couple of spritzers a night.”

“Single men and those with families, wives, widows and spinsters could all be found in the movement.”

“Unmarried women over twenty were considered spinsters, and bachelors in their late twenties were subjected to public censure and mockery.”

“Both widows and spinsters were prominent in property ownership and in financing businesses as sleeping partners.”