Joel Dueck ·

Screech

Screech…is the worst conceivable quality of Caribbean rum, bottled by the Newfoundland government under the Screech label, and sold to poor devils who have no great desire to continue living. It is not as powerful as it used to be, but this defect can be, and often is, remedied by the addition of quantities of lemon extract. Screech is usually served with boiling water. In its consequent neargaseous state the transfer of the alcohol to the bloodstream is instantaneous. Very little is wasted in the digestive tract.

—Farley Mowat, The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float

When you look at some set of words I have put down, I want very little to be wasted in your digestive tract. Maybe it burns, but it shouldn’t get stuck anywhere.