caprices

Though the trunk and all the inner boughs and leaves have disappeared, yet there hang here and there fossil leaves, also in mid-air; they appear to have been petrified, without method or selection, by what we call the caprices of nature; they hang in the path which the boughs and twigs would have taken, and they seem to indicate that if the tree could have been seen a million years earlier, before it had grown near its present size, the leaves standing at the end of each bough would have been found very different from what they are now.

God the Known and God the Unknown Samuel Butler 1868

The way that Gondry goes for broke with insanely inventive special effects and gripping caprices is actually inspiring.

Another 10 Movies to Watch Stoned/High » Scene-Stealers 2010

Her character was not of the kind which could safely be left to its own development, for she called her caprices justice and her obstinacy principle, a mode of viewing life not conducive to much permanent satisfaction when not modified by the salutary restraint of a more sensible companion.

Paul Patoff 1881

"Niece," said Don Inocencio gravely and sententiously, "when serious things have taken place, caprices are not called caprices, but by another name."

Dona Perfecta Benito P��rez Gald��s 1881

The pearls -- which she always wore -- some coral ornaments, and a handful of amber beads were her only dower, but her caprices were the insolent and extravagant caprices of a queen.

Shapes that Haunt the Dusk Henry Mills Alden 1877

(which most people call caprices) underlying the phenomena of this delicious phase of life, when childhood is both flower and fruit, a confused intelligence, a perpetual movement, a powerful desire.

Ursula 2006

The walls were brightly frescoed with "caprices" of nymphs and loves sporting under the blue among flowers and birds.

Romola George Eliot 1849

But with the kind of lifestyle and work schedule most of us have we tend to set aside some of our 'caprices' like a relaxing day at the beach and enjoy sun tanning.

isulong WeBlog 2008

"Any man who to secure your real interests opposes your wishes and never speaks to get applause but deliberately chooses politics as his profession (a business in which chance exercises greater influence than human reason), being perfectly ready to answer for the caprices is a really brave and useful citizen.

Authors of Greece T. W. Lumb

He may yet fail to survive: to second-guess the caprices of Blackburn's distant poultry magnates would be folly, and six defeats in nine Premier League matches before this draw, not to mention rumours of an altercation between supporters and a member of Kean's coaching staff in midweek, had combined to create a sense of crisis.

Steve Kean encouraged by eager Blackburn despite draw with Norwich 2011