“At times, Bifo seems a cranky old curmudgeon madly shaking his fist at the present.”

“He was my ancestor by the mother's side, and an old miserly curmudgeon he was.”

“In truth, he often proved an irascible, frustrating curmudgeon at the tribunal but people loved him for it.”

“This campaign, incidentally, is being seriously impeded not just by my own curmudgeonliness, but more by the lack of a mate to drag along.”

“But there is more to this book than idiosyncratic curmudgeonliness.”

“What is it about the ageing process that turns us into moaning curmudgeons who think everything is going to pot?”

“We don't want householders to feel like curmudgeons which is why the posters wish callers an enjoyable night.”

“This is not good for anybody, except for a few curmudgeons and people who are embittered by nothing more than their own embitteredness.”