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Paying attention   /pˈeɪɪŋ ətˈɛnʃən/   Listen
Paying attention

adjective
1.
Taking heed; giving close and thoughtful attention.  Synonyms: attentive, heedful, thoughtful.  "So heedful a writer" , "Heedful of what they were doing"






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Paying attention" Quotes from Famous Books



... increased. "That was not the reason," she faltered, making a brave effort to confide in Angelica in the hope of winning the latter's confidence in return. "There was a dreadful mistake. Your grandfather thought he was paying attention to me, and spoke to him about it, telling him I should not be allowed to marry—beneath me; and Julian said, not meaning any affront to me,—never dreaming that I cared,—that he had not intended to ask me, which made my father angry and unreasonable, and he scolded me because he had made a mistake. ...
— The Heavenly Twins • Madame Sarah Grand

... garden. In the department which treats of the Vegetables used for medicinal purposes, I have given as ample descriptions as the nature of the work will admit of, having in view the very necessary obligation which the younger branch of the profession are under, of paying attention to ...
— The Botanist's Companion, Vol. II • William Salisbury

... charming girl is well known in this town as "a very tight old gentleman." When dad recently received a young man, who for some time had been "paying attention" to the daughter, it was the old gentleman ...
— Best Short Stories • Various

... to avoid all the jerky and abrupt movements which disfigure the address of the timid and deprive them of all the assurance that they should possess, for the reason that they can not help paying attention to their own lack ...
— Poise: How to Attain It • D. Starke

... Coxine. "You took chances! The only chance you took was in not paying attention to what I told you to do. I gave it all to you. Where to hold up the first freighter passenger, what to take, how to mount the atomic blasters, what code to use in getting through the prison defenses. The whole works! And I did it while sitting on the toughest Rock in ...
— On the Trail of the Space Pirates • Carey Rockwell

... answered with a nod and a smile. "Where you brought down the wrath of the lady champion upon your head the other night when you were letting your mind wander across to Lutha and the Old Forest, instead of paying attention ...
— The Mad King • Edgar Rice Burroughs

... proper exercises, a good carriage and graceful movement of little arms and legs being duly considered. Polite manners, and the correct use of language were taught by precept and example. More than all, the juvenile minds were, directly and indirectly, drilled to acquire the habit of paying attention. ...
— My Friends at Brook Farm • John Van Der Zee Sears

... her toilet. It is true that men are less tenacious of ceremony," added she, throwing a significant glance at Lord Lindsay's rusty armour and soiled and pierced doublet. "Good day, Melville," she continued, without paying attention to some words of excuse stammered by Lindsay; "be welcome in my prison, as you were in my palace; for I believe you as devoted to the one as ...
— CELEBRATED CRIMES, COMPLETE - MARY STUART—1587 • ALEXANDRE DUMAS, PERE

... Mrs. Thornburgh thoughtfully. 'One had plenty of time, when you and I were young, to sit at home and think what one was going to wear, and how one would look, and whether he had been paying attention to any one else; and if he had, why; and all that. And now the young women are so superior. But the marrying has got to be done somehow all the same. What ...
— Robert Elsmere • Mrs. Humphry Ward

... adversaries' taws within the inner ring, and to be careful in striking planets that they fall into the orbits where the forfeitures are small. By thus thinking of what he is about and exercising forethought and prudence, he will soon become expert, and by paying attention to the game he will make ...
— The Book of Sports: - Containing Out-door Sports, Amusements and Recreations, - Including Gymnastics, Gardening & Carpentering • William Martin

... twice. And she's living at East Point, too, only an hour or two away. She's a born flirt, and I think she's tired of him. I'm told that one of this year's graduates there, a fellow named Saunders, is paying attention to her, and when the poor captain dies, I doubt if ...
— Captain Jinks, Hero • Ernest Crosby

... cannot end here," said we—"a night attack is commencing;" and we made no delay in preparing to meet it. Whilst Charlton remained with the picquet, in readiness to act as the events might demand, I came forward to the sentries, for the purpose of cautioning them against paying attention to what might pass in their rear, and keeping them steadily engaged in watching their front. The men were fully alive to the peril of their situation. They strained with their hearing and eyesight to the utmost limits; but neither sound nor sight of an advancing column could be perceived. At ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10, Issue 264, July 14, 1827 • Various

... speed with which we can manipulate the keys in playing the piano is wonderful. Our playing becomes accurate, perfect. We do it with ease, with no unnecessary movements. We can play the piano, after we become skilled, without paying attention to the actual movements of our hands. We can play the piano while concentrating upon the meaning of the music, or while carrying on a conversation, or while thinking about something else. As a rule, pleasure and confidence come with skill. ...
— The Science of Human Nature - A Psychology for Beginners • William Henry Pyle

... and negotiations of these natives were generally illegal, each one paying attention to how he might better his own ...
— History of the Philippine Islands Vols 1 and 2 • Antonio de Morga

... own anxiety. "And Jane hasn't scrambled around here as much as we have; she hasn't had the time. And there is so much undergrowth close up to the edge, one could come on it unaware—especially if one was excited, and not paying attention——! I better beat it! Jump in and drive me around college and I'll get off ...
— Cloudy Jewel • Grace Livingston Hill

... have taken such a peculiar interest in him. He talks of his early struggles, the economy of bacon, and the bigotries of Old Testamentarians in the same concise language set to the same unvaried monotony of voice. If you should fail to follow him, he would almost chide you for not paying attention. ...
— The Masques of Ottawa • Domino

... kind to take so much pains with you; and I trust you will show that you are obliged to her, by paying attention to all she tells you. When you see how much more grown people know than you, you ought to be anxious to learn all you can from those who teach you; and as there are so many wise and good things written in ...
— The Life of John Sterling • Thomas Carlyle

... arming the infantry should come without powder-horns. That appears to have been the understanding, for on the said occasion not thirty pairs of them were found, and very little powder. All that resulted from those who despatched those ships not paying attention to what their commanders asked, while they supply them at times with what they do not need or request; and other things those persons furnish at their own pleasure, with no care whatever except for the bulk and lump—obliging the masters to receive them on faith, and even on appearances, according ...
— The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 • Emma Helen Blair

... paying attention to favoring conditions, Captain Lawrence could have repeated the success of Commodore Rodgers in gaining the sea a month before, must remain uncertain. The "Constitution," under Captain Stewart, a seaman of ...
— Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812 - Volume 2 • Alfred Thayer Mahan

... selected for their antagonists, two Indians who were close together; but, who were partially concealed behind separate trees. As Kit was on the point of raising his rifle to fire he saw by a quick side glance at Markhead, that he was working at the lock of his gun without paying attention to his adversary who was aiming at him with, almost, a certainty of killing him. Kit instantly changed the direction of his rifle and fired, sending a bullet through the heart of Markhead's adversary; but, in thus saving the life of his friend, he was obliged, for the instant, to neglect ...
— The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself • De Witt C. Peters

... and were quarreling with each other. I arose at once, but was unable to hear what they were quarreling about, for they cooled down as they saw that others were paying attention to them. I soon learned that Bishop Dame, Judge Lewis of Parowan, and Brother Haight, with several others, had arrived at the Hamblin ranch in the night, but I do not know what time ...
— The Mormon Menace - The Confessions of John Doyle Lee, Danite • John Doyle Lee

... ground near the side of the tower, and the other by the hinder face. The thick black layer on the snow would have told its tale instantly to a soldier, but Malcolm had little fear of the peasants in their haste paying attention to it. When his task was completed he crawled back again to the door and laid a train from the foot of the ...
— The Lion of the North • G.A. Henty

... after his fainting-fit at the Butte-aux-Loups, old Morestal was carried back to the Old Mill on a litter by the soldiers of the detachment. Marthe, who came with him, flung a few words of explanation to her mother-in-law and, without paying attention to the good woman's lamentations, without even speaking to her of Philippe and of what could have become of him, ran to her room ...
— The Frontier • Maurice LeBlanc

... that men engaged in literature should feel themselves to be bound to their industry as men know that they are bound in other callings. There does exist, I fear, a feeling that authors, because they are authors, are relieved from the necessity of paying attention to everyday rules. A writer, if he be making (pounds)800 a year, does not think himself bound to live modestly on (pounds)600, and put by the remainder for his wife and children. He does not understand that he should sit down at his desk at a certain hour. He imagines ...
— Autobiography of Anthony Trollope • Anthony Trollope

... "Hereafter I am an advocate of the Russell Sage system. Never take a day off if you can help it. There's nothing so restful as paying attention to business, and no greater promoter of weariness of spirit and vexation of your digestion than the modern style of vacating. No more for ...
— The Wit and Humor of America, Volume VIII (of X) • Various

... a camp meeting in the edge of Tennessee when an incident of thrilling interest occurred. Two young men, distantly related, sons of respectable and wealthy parents, lived in the settlement. They were both paying attention to a very wealthy young lady. Soon a rivalship for her hand sprang up between them, which created a bitter jealousy in the heart of each. After quarreling and fighting they both armed themselves, and ...
— The Kentucky Ranger • Edward T. Curnick

... the table caught that look, too. Don's face grew hot. In an effort to keep the scouts from paying attention to Tim, he talked rapidly about the first aid contest, now two weeks off. The Eagles and the Foxes, he said, were working hard, and the Wolves would have to give more time ...
— Don Strong, Patrol Leader • William Heyliger

... ostensible cause is known; there was another, of which I might have been in full possession, if the great confusion I was in upon the subject had not deprived me of the power of paying attention to it. I will endeavour to make myself understood. In the early part of September the Queen, as she was going to bed, desired me to let all her people go, and to remain with her myself; when we were alone she said to me, "The ...
— Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette, Queen Of France, Complete • Madame Campan

... it is read," said Sir Godfrey, contemptuously. "I see there are two of our men paying attention to you. Rein back, if ...
— Crown and Sceptre - A West Country Story • George Manville Fenn

... crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to ...
— The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0

... what Johnny Weeks said down in the primary room the other day," Bernice began in explanation. "The teacher asked him what 'cat' was. I guess he was not paying attention. He looked all around, and finally said he did not know. She told him it was a noun. 'Then,' he said, after some deliberation, 'kitten ...
— Stories Worth Rereading • Various

... Sarah," broke in Mrs. Stunner, scattering my thoughts: "who is paying attention to ...
— Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 15, - No. 86, February, 1875 • Various

... "The necessity of paying attention to the general interests of the nation before every other, forces my august father to leave you, and to intrust me with the care of the public happiness of Brazil, until Portugal shall form a ...
— Journal of a Voyage to Brazil - And Residence There During Part of the Years 1821, 1822, 1823 • Maria Graham

... a walk in the country is heightened, I think, by following the example of Baden-Powell, and paying attention to the tracks on the ground. It would be an uncanny day for England when every man turned himself into a Sherlock Holmes, but there is no man who might not with advantage to himself practise scouting in the Essex forests or on the Surrey hills. The world ...
— The Story of Baden-Powell - 'The Wolf That Never Sleeps' • Harold Begbie

... stories are extant. It is said that the nightly visitors expected water to be provided for them, and if this were not the case they resented the slight thus shown them and punished those who neglected paying attention to their wants. But tradition says the house-wives were ever careful of the Fairy wants; and, as it was believed that Fairy mothers preferred using the same water in which human children had been washed, the human mother left this water in the ...
— Welsh Folk-Lore - a Collection of the Folk-Tales and Legends of North Wales • Elias Owen

... now made opens to us a large class of beautiful friendships. In all ages there have been myriads of mothers and sons, myriads of daughters and fathers, who were models of devoted, happy friends. Before paying attention to these, it will be profitable for us to notice the ...
— The Friendships of Women • William Rounseville Alger

... man rather absently; for he was paying attention to the dog, which seemed to have found the track of the bear again. He was just going to add, "Good-bye!" but when he looked at her she was blushing; cheeks, neck, ...
— The Bridal March; One Day • Bjornstjerne Bjornson

... gentlemen were paying attention to what did not deserve it. The men in the gallery had come here to meddle in a business with which they have nothing to do; they were volunteering it in the cause of others, who neither expected nor desired it. He had a respect for the body of ...
— The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus • American Anti-Slavery Society

... some one is paying attention to her all the time. She wants to be noticed and considered and amused from morning till night, and feels slighted at being set aside for a single instant. So you see she is a little girl to be pitied. 'Contentment is better than wealth,' ...
— A Dear Little Girl • Amy E. Blanchard

... every five minutes. Three weeks afterwards he was as well as ever. He didn't allow any fuss that was made on shore to upset him; he just shut his lips tight, and let people screech. It was bad enough to have lost his ship, and all he was worth besides, without paying attention to the hard names they called him. That's the man for me." He lifted his arm for a signal to some one down the street. "He's got a little money, so I had to let him into my thing. Had to! It would have been sinful to throw ...
— Lord Jim • Joseph Conrad

... Hewett's station we note these little things; we set them down as a point scored against him; yet if our business were with a man of leisure, who, owing to worry, found his glass of wine at luncheon and again at dinner an acceptable support, we certainly should not think of paying attention to the matter. Poverty makes a crime of every indulgence. John himself came out of the public-house in a slinking way, and hoped Kirkwood might not scent ...
— The Nether World • George Gissing

... corrupted and marvelously depraved after the Fall. Now, to be sure, free will cannot by its own natural powers regain its integrity nor rise after being ruined, yet as the doctrine [the Gospel] can be understood by paying attention to it, so it can also in a manner (aliquo modo) be obeyed by assenting to it. But it is necessary for all who would dwell in the splendor of the eternal light and in the sight of God to look up to and not turn away from, the light. ...
— Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church • Friedrich Bente

... exceedingly fruitless work—in looking for something to do. Then Nature began paying attention to George Henry Harrison personally, in a manner which, however flattering in a general way, did not impress him pleasantly. His breakfast had been a failure, and now he was as hungry as the leaner of ...
— The Wolf's Long Howl • Stanley Waterloo

... the floor, the king riding horseback on his knee, mounting by jumps up to his father's face, and kissing him. On another occasion the child entered the council chamber after the meeting had ended, and ran into his father's arms without paying attention to any one else, upon which the Emperor said to him, "Sire, you have not saluted these gentlemen." The child turned, bowed most gracefully, and his father then took him in his arms. Sometimes when going ...
— The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete • Constant

... first floor of the donjon, a big room that once served for an oratory. He lives like a bear, never goes out without his gun, and is only pleasant with the girls. The women, for twelve miles round, are all setting their caps for him. For the present, he is paying attention to Madame Mathieu, whose husband is keeping a lynx eye ...
— The Mystery of the Yellow Room • Gaston Leroux

... dealings with the world outside. Under this heading we shall consider first the chief factors which limit their access to the facts. They are the artificial censorships, the limitations of social contact, the comparatively meager time available in each day for paying attention to public affairs, the distortion arising because events have to be compressed into very short messages, the difficulty of making a small vocabulary express a complicated world, and finally the fear of facing those facts ...
— Public Opinion • Walter Lippmann

... with a touch of impatience. She wished to bring this conversation to an end, and the man would give her no opportunity of doing so. She was not in reality paying attention to his arguments, as was evident in her echo of ...
— Demos • George Gissing

... While leaving such persons in their error, we will take care to derive from our argument with them a truth serviceable for our purpose, namely, [61a] that the mind, in paying attention to a thing hypothetical or false, so as to meditate upon it and understand it, and derive the proper conclusions in due order therefrom, will readily discover its falsity; and if the thing hypothetical be in its ...
— On the Improvement of the Understanding • Baruch Spinoza [Benedict de Spinoza]

... Darling, whose multifarious duties might well have excused him from paying attention to distant objects, hesitated not a moment when he thought the interests of the colony, whose welfare he so zealously promoted, appeared to be concerned; and he determined to avail himself of the services ...
— Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete • Charles Sturt

... islands found; and of course he could not refrain from telling them that just before he left Hispaniola real gold mines had been discovered from which they might "confidently expect large returns." They thanked him for his new discoveries and showed him many marks of favor. Instead of paying attention to the many complaints which had been made against Bartolome Colon, they told the Admiral that his brother might remain vice-governor for life. A little later they told him they would take his young son Fernando into the royal household and educate him, ...
— Christopher Columbus • Mildred Stapley

... hesitatingly, and at last repeating word for word what Marie dictated to him, when he reached that point in his petition beyond which he had never been able to learn, as he always fell asleep just there every night. On this occasion, the labor of paying attention and the monotony of his own tones produced their customary effect, so that he pronounced the last syllables only with great effort, and after they had been repeated three times; his head grew heavy, and fell against Marie's breast: ...
— The Devil's Pool • George Sand

... is not above paying attention must understand me. When he is at Merton he goes to church, and his Rector is bound to look after him. When he is at sea, he has his Chaplain, who preaches whenever the weather permits, and dare not neglect his duties. But the strongest point of all is this—his very own father ...
— Springhaven - A Tale of the Great War • R. D. Blackmore

... powerful and active men on board the brig, this assertion was sufficient to put a stop to practical joking with Ralph, and the lad had a much easier time of it than he expected. The men, finding him willing to work and anxious to oblige in every way, soon took to him; and by paying attention to their talk, and asking the French name of every object on board the ship, it was not many days before Ralph found himself able so far to understand that he could obey orders, and pull and haul on any sheet that ...
— One of the 28th • G. A. Henty

... a sour person who has long ago completed her education, she will take this occasion to chide us for not paying attention to a new letter that is just swimming into our ken. If, however, she is fortunate enough to be one who keeps on learning, she will share the triumph of our achievement, for she ...
— By the Christmas Fire • Samuel McChord Crothers

... Both May Be Cured.—By paying attention to a few rules of diet, and by taking Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound for a short time, I believe every case will ...
— Treatise on the Diseases of Women • Lydia E. Pinkham

... staggered and the prince himself was moved. Grimaud uttered a heavy groan, and let fall the bottle, which was broken without anybody paying attention. M. de Beaufort looked the young man in the face, and read plainly, though his eyes were cast down, the fire of resolution before which everything must give way. As to Athos, he was too well acquainted with that tender, but inflexible soul; he could not hope ...
— The Man in the Iron Mask • Alexandre Dumas, Pere

... sleigh-ride when the long body of some farm wagon was placed on runners, and boys and girls—young men and women, they almost thought themselves—were packed in like sardines. Something like self-reproach smote Holcroft even now, remembering how he had allowed his fancy much latitude at this period, paying attention to more than one girl besides Bessie, and painfully undecided which he ...
— He Fell in Love with His Wife • Edward P. Roe

... "Life of Farragut." But although the British captain does full justice to his foe, British historians have universally tried to belittle Porter's conduct. It is much to be regretted that we have no British account worth paying attention to of the proceedings before the fight, when the Phoebe declined single combat with the Essex. James, of course, states that the Phoebe did not decline it, but he gives no authority, and his unsupported assertion would be valueless ...
— The Naval War of 1812 • Theodore Roosevelt

... care is lacking. The experiments furnish several examples of inertness, ineffectiveness or failure to produce profit when the fertilizers were applied under any of the conditions named. They emphasize the importance of paying attention to all of the factors on which plant growth is dependent. Moisture, soil temperature, aeration, the texture of the soil, freedom from pests, cold and frosts, as well as the supply of food may limit ...
— Manual of American Grape-Growing • U. P. Hedrick

... put a high price on himself, and pique her pride, as she was too much accustomed to worship, to be won by flattering it. He might have done that by paying attention to some one else: but he was too wise to employ so coarse a method, which might raise indignation, or disgust, or despair in Rose's heart, but would have never brought her to his feet—as it will never bring any woman worth bringing. So he quietly and unobtrusively showed her that ...
— Westward Ho! • Charles Kingsley

... said the young Prince, "those are very pretty, my uncle gave them to me." One morning on his way to see the Emperor, he passed through a drawing-room where happened to be among others, Murat, then Grand Duke of Berg. The young Napoleon walked straight ahead without paying attention to any one, and when Murat stopped him and said, "Don't you mean to say good-morning to me?" the child replied, "No; not before my uncle the Emperor." Who knows? if this little Prince had lived the ...
— The Court of the Empress Josephine • Imbert de Saint-Amand

... nothing. The red-headed beast did not have the papers. That little fool, Chord, has misled both your father and me. I could wring his neck for him, and now he is palavering your father in the library and saying he will get the papers himself or die in the attempt. It serves us right for paying attention to a babbling idiot like him. I said in the first place that that Irish baboon of an O'Ruddy was not likely to give them to the ape ...
— The O'Ruddy - A Romance • Stephen Crane

... attention to the things that may properly engage the mind, and of using the will to arouse and control it, is of very great importance. Is it not what we call "paying attention" that makes the connection between the ego and the objective world? Giving attention is a process of consciousness. The person who fails in attention misses the purpose of life and throws away valuable time and opportunity. To give ...
— Self-Development and the Way to Power • L. W. Rogers

... upon good advisement told me that a manuscript was worth nothing, or at least possessed no redeeming qualities sufficient to atone for its defects, I have generally cast it aside; but I am little in the custom of paying attention to minute criticisms or of offering such to any friend who may do me the honour to consult me. I am convinced that, in general, in removing even errors of a trivial or venial kind, the character of originality ...
— Sir Walter Scott as a Critic of Literature • Margaret Ball

... confusions generally. Stage "law" may not be quite the most fearful and wonderful mystery in the whole universe, but it's near it—very near it. We were under the impression at one time that we ourselves knew something—just a little—about statutory and common law, but after paying attention to the legal points of one or two plays we found that we were ...
— Stage-Land • Jerome K. Jerome

... in Chicago only three days, but who had been paying attention to a prominent Chicago belle, wanted to propose, but was afraid he would be thought too hasty. He delicately broached the subject as follows: "If I were to speak to you of marriage, after having only made your acquaintance three days ...
— Toaster's Handbook - Jokes, Stories, and Quotations • Peggy Edmund & Harold W. Williams, compilers

... Glover with a twinkle in his eye. "In other words, he repudiated the suggestion that he was jealous, swore that he had already told Miss Briggerland that he could not marry her, and he did not even know that Bulford was paying attention ...
— The Angel of Terror • Edgar Wallace

... Without paying attention to the few obus which the Boches sent over in reply to our storm, we all mounted the parapets to get a view of the scene. All along our front, in both directions, all we could see was a thick cloud ...
— On the Edge of the War Zone - From the Battle of the Marne to the Entrance of the Stars and Stripes • Mildred Aldrich

... Lord Loudwater was paying attention neither to his breakfast nor to the cat Melchisidec. Absorbed in a leader in The Times newspaper, now and again he tugged at his red-brown beard in order to quicken his comprehension of the weighty phrases ...
— The Loudwater Mystery • Edgar Jepson

... that again, Joe?" Garry begged him, very earnestly. "I wasn't paying attention. I'm afraid I was thinking of something else too hard ...
— Then I'll Come Back to You • Larry Evans

... If she has only been sentenced yesterday," said the prosecutor without paying attention to Nekhludoff's declaration about her innocence, "then she will be detained until final judgment in the place where she is now. The jail is open to visitors on certain days only. I advise ...
— The Awakening - The Resurrection • Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy

... thought! The serious soul saddens; sorrow fills the good man's heart, if, when he sees little regard paid to religion, he expects yet greater defections! If when he sees but few of those who are rising into life, paying attention to the best things, he expects still fewer of their descendants to be wise and good! Yea that the declensions will continue and increase, "till all flesh shall become corrupt, and the earth be filled with violence!" Would to God ...
— Sermons on Various Important Subjects • Andrew Lee

... however, had been growing, that Mara had withdrawn her favor on account of his friendly relations with Northern people and his readiness to bury the past. The morning visitor had not only learned of a new proof of his objectionable tendencies, but also—so do stories grow as they travel—that he was paying attention to a New York belle and heiress. Mrs. Hunter was soon possessed of these momentous rumors, and when, at last, weary from her morning labors, Mara sat down to their simple dinner, she saw that her aunt ...
— The Earth Trembled • E.P. Roe

... by paying attention to small details. Whatever he did, he did to the best of his ability. Even when engaged in teaching geography to the Queen, Columbus was the best geography teacher he knew how to be. And before long ...
— A Parody Outline of History • Donald Ogden Stewart

... We took our arms, and set sail in a canoe, that we steered ourselves; we had scarcely come near the beach within hail of the shore, when some armed Indians called out to us to stand off, otherwise they would fire upon us. Without paying attention to this threat, my lieutenant and I, some minutes later, jumped boldly on shore, and after a few steps we found ourselves in ...
— Adventures in the Philippine Islands • Paul P. de La Gironiere

... whose name is Adela, asked me if I liked music. I told her yes, almost closing my eyes, as if deliriously, and we went into the drawing-room. Without paying attention, I listened, during the horrors of digestion, to a number of sonatas, now and then saying: 'Magnificent! How ...
— Caesar or Nothing • Pio Baroja Baroja

... so bad as you think. As for her laying snares for people above her, I wouldn't be afraid of that. Poor little thing! It's not so easy as you think laying snares. Perhaps it's the new minister at Salem Chapel who has been paying attention to her? I would not take any notice of it if I were you. Don't let her loll about at the window as she's doing, and don't let her go out so late, and give her plenty of work to do. My maid wants some one to help in her needlework. Perhaps this child would do, Cecilia?" said Miss Leonora. "As for ...
— The Perpetual Curate • Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant

... has lost him, and has been deceived. It's this that hurts her pride, and talking to her about it will only make her more fretful. If you'll take my advice, you'll just leave her to herself, take no especial notice of her, and let her go to this ball; and when she sees the man paying attention to others,—dancing and philandering with them, and neglecting her—her pride will make her feel that she must at any rate appear to be indifferent; and when she has once enabled herself to appear so, she will soon become really so. Just let her go to the races, ...
— The Macdermots of Ballycloran • Anthony Trollope

... paying attention any longer, either to me or to Jose; his white teeth were showing in a grin for all his pain; her eyes were fixed in horror on ...
— Dead Men Tell No Tales • E. W. Hornung

... joined issue—the man of business and the man of law. If Mary had been paying attention she would have seen that the judge was slowly but surely ...
— Mary Minds Her Business • George Weston

... pointed and vehement Saxon style. Had he talked as he wrote, he would have been wearisome and pedantic. Still, like Coleridge and Robert Hall, he preached rather than conversed, thinking what he himself should say rather than paying attention to what others said, except to combat and rebuke them,—a discourser, as Macaulay was; not one to suggest interchange of ideas, as Addison did. But neither power of conversation nor learning would have made Johnson a literary dictator. His power ...
— Beacon Lights of History, Volume XIII • John Lord

... blow Athos staggered and the prince himself was moved. Grimaud uttered a heavy groan, and let fall the bottle, which was broken without anybody paying attention to it. M. de Beaufort looked the young man in the face, and read plainly, though his eyes were cast down, the fire of resolution before which everything must give way. As to Athos, he was too well acquainted with that tender, ...
— The Vicomte de Bragelonne - Or Ten Years Later being the completion of "The Three - Musketeers" And "Twenty Years After" • Alexandre Dumas

... to it to see who has come. In that case the feigned attack is successful, and the dog, who has evidently meant to give the alarm so as to have the door opened, comes in at once and claims a place at the table. He has accomplished his end, for the door is usually shut without paying attention to his having got in. I have frequently witnessed this stratagem, and when, during my kitchen dinner, I suddenly hear the dogs yelping after the brach hound has begun, I am pretty sure that nobody ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 841, February 13, 1892 • Various

... able to kill her. They declared that her white plumage was really put on to hide her black feathers—in fact there was nothing they did not do in order to prevent the king from seeing the bird or from paying attention to her ...
— The Orange Fairy Book • Andrew Lang

... Aunt Priscilla, as Cobbett has been sent to look after old Desmond in particular, don't you think, if you entertain him, it will be to old Desmond, and not Her Majesty, you will be paying attention, after all?" ...
— Rossmoyne • Unknown

... a great impression, not all to the advantage of Mr. Burke, for, after the matter had been very thoroughly discussed, it was generally conceded that he must be no better than a fortune-hunter. Otherwise, why should he be paying attention to Willy Croup, who, as everybody knew, was not a day under forty-five years old, and therefore at least ten years older than the gentleman ...
— Mrs. Cliff's Yacht • Frank R. Stockton

... for forgetting you in this fit of indignation upon a point you cannot care much about. It leads me naturally enough to my present business, which is none of the easiest, but you must help me by paying attention. I am going to describe the ...
— The History of a Mouthful of Bread - And its effect on the organization of men and animals • Jean Mace

... safeguard against failure in any attempt to enforce pursuit or conduct a retreat lies in a thorough knowledge of your horse's powers. (2) But how is this experience to be got? Simply by paying attention to their behaviour in the peaceable manouvres of the sham fight, when there is no real enemy to intervene—how the animals come off, in fact, and what stamina they show in the various ...
— The Cavalry General • Xenophon

... I'm horrid," she admitted; "but—well, I went off for a ride with Tilly yesterday after school, instead of paying attention to his Imperial Highness, Caesar; and that's what was the trouble. But, Harold, it was so perfectly glorious out I had to—I just had to! I tell you, every bit of me was tingling to go! Now what do you suppose Miss Hart knows of a feeling like that? ...
— The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch • Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter

... became of age, and on my birthday my father called me to him, and, in his usual stern, uncompromising way, asked me if I persisted in paying attention to Evelina. I answered promptly that I did. I had had so many conflicts that I had lost much of my timidity, and I now defined my position clear, ...
— Town and Country, or, Life at Home and Abroad • John S. Adams

... "I have been paying attention to the solid capitalists," replied Karozitch; "we have made our debut in the role of practical actors. Well, what about him?" he continued, indicating Prince ...
— The Continental Classics, Volume XVIII., Mystery Tales • Various

... a boy," laughed Elias, enjoying his quip immensely. "Miss Cable seems to be very fond of Graydon. That will last for a couple of years and then she'll probably be like two-thirds of the rest of 'em. Other men will be paying attention to her and she looking for admiration everywhere. You'd be surprised to know how much of that is going on in Chicago. Women can't seem to be satisfied with one husband. They must have another one or two—usually ...
— Jane Cable • George Barr McCutcheon

... bacon and cabbages, you invariably throw away the liquor in which they have been boiled, or, at the best, give it to the pigs, if you possess any; this is wrong, for it is easy to turn it to a better account for your own use, by paying attention to the following instructions, viz.:—Put your piece of bacon on to boil in a pot with two gallons (more or less, according to the number you have to provide for) of water, when it has boiled up, and has been ...
— A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes • Charles Elme Francatelli

... his straightened fingers in her own and drew a sharp breath because they lay inert—dead things so far as any response came to her clasp; the first and middle fingers yellowed a little from cigarettes, the nails soft and pink from much immersion in water. A tale they told, if Billy Louise had been paying attention. ...
— The Ranch at the Wolverine • B. M. Bower

... to go. Nor may he, for that matter, mingle in the social life with the young lady visitors at the post. He may try it, of course, but no well-informed girl will allow a plebe to take the chances. If a plebe is caught actually paying attention to any young woman the upper class men take care of him in their own effective way. A plebe, like any other cadet, must show courtesy to any woman who addresses him; beyond that the young man must not go during his plebedom. ...
— Dick Prescott's First Year at West Point • H. Irving Hancock

... been paying attention to Clara Manley, a happy-hearted young creature, over whose head scarce eighteen bright summers had yet passed. Esteem and admiration of her mind and person, had gradually changed into a pure and permanent affection, which was tenderly and ...
— The Lights and Shadows of Real Life • T.S. Arthur

... other, I have no doubt he will have distinguished himself as an irresistibly attracting, captivating May-Roon-Ti-Groon-Ter. Give him a good many kisses for me. I quite agree with Syd as to his ideas of paying attention to the old gentleman. It's not bad, but deficient in originality. The usual deficiency of an inferior intellect with so great a model before him. I am very curious to see whether the Plorn ...
— The Letters of Charles Dickens - Vol. 1 (of 3), 1833-1856 • Charles Dickens

... turn, and in a quarter of an hour one can go in and find the walls thickly covered with stringy blacks, notably on the gas-pipes and everything most easily charged by induction. Next fill a bell-jar full of steam, and electrify, paying attention to insulation of the supply point in this case. In a few seconds the air looks clear, and turning on a beam of light we see the globules of water dancing about, no longer fine and impalpable, but separately visible and rapidly falling. Finally, make a London fog by burning turpentine ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 443, June 28, 1884 • Various

... beginning to dawn even upon poor little Ermentrude's own dull mind. She took more interest in everything: songs were not solely lullabies, but she cared to talk them over; tales to which she would once have been incapable of paying attention were eagerly sought after; and, above all, the spiritual vacancy that her mind had hitherto presented was beginning to be filled up. Christina had brought her own books—a library of extraordinary extent for a maiden of the fifteenth century, but which she owed to her uncle's connexion ...
— The Dove in the Eagle's Nest • Charlotte M. Yonge

... explanation given at the time of Bennett's expulsion was that some of their travelling elders in the Eastern states discovered that the general had a wife and family there while he was paying attention to young ladies in Nauvoo; but a very slight acquaintance with Smith's ideas on the question of morality at that time is needed to indicate that this was an afterthought. The course of the church authorities showed that they were ready to every way qualified ...
— The Story of the Mormons: • William Alexander Linn

... Mark was already paying attention to it, and, well rested as he was, thoroughly enjoyed his novel meal, and was soon after as eagerly feasting upon the various sights and sounds of ...
— Mother Carey's Chicken - Her Voyage to the Unknown Isle • George Manville Fenn

... with a less marked indication of the moods. "Here you plainly see where expression must start. It has to be from the words, of course. The performer puts in the feeling of gladness or sadness without regard to the notes, paying attention only ...
— Essentials in Conducting • Karl Wilson Gehrkens

... here, Bob. I don't want to quarrel with you, but it seems to me that I've got enough to do without paying attention to your part of the show. What am I? First place, host; second place, head usher; third place, curtain-manager; fourth place, fire department; fifth place, Bess says if children holler, go up and see what's the matter other words, nurse—and on top of this you say keep an eye on the play. You ...
— The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces • John Kendrick Bangs

... Without paying attention to the conversation of the two women, Uli drove to the designated inn. The hostess welcomed them and led them into a special room, as the mother had desired, after telling Uli to come right in. Then she ordered wine and a couple of plates with something to eat; driving had made ...
— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Vol. VIII • Various

... paused and looked around to see if every one was paying attention. Then he went on with ...
— The Eskimo Twins • Lucy Fitch Perkins

... received instructions to break the railroad between Louisville and Nashville, in order to retard Buell's retreat to Louisville as greatly as possible, also to occupy the Federal cavalry, and prevent them from paying attention to what was going on in other quarters. Gallatin seemed to him an excellent point at which to commence operations with all these views. On the way, he was joined by Captain Joseph Desha (formerly of the First Kentucky infantry), with twenty or ...
— History of Morgan's Cavalry • Basil W. Duke



Words linked to "Paying attention" :   attentive, heedless, attending, heed, inattentiveness, attention, advertency, unheeding, advertence



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