That, of course, is a peculiarly literary conceit, which seems only fitting for a people that have historically been literary above all else.

Not always; the journalist in me bridled occasionally at the easy commerce between biological fact and literary conceit.

Mr. Morris's literary conceit was front-page news when it was revealed before the book's publication.

Yet the tuxedo-clad boulevardier battling the forces of global evil is an ancient cinematic and literary conceit.

You must be content knowing you are surrounded by literary conceits and immersed in deft, showily rhythmic dialogue.

They reflect a young man's world-view and a developing writer's one-dimensional, high-concept literary conceits.

And Mr. Jones provided a lead-in speech for the song to make clear that the abduction was a literary conceit, not a real act.

The walk is really little more than a cultural touchstone and a literary conceit, the event around which McCann has assembled his cast.

A result is that Themba's fascinating characters don't engage one other enough, and scenes that should crackle are choked off in overly literary conceits.

There is also a series of lovers who are either later inventions or purely literary conceits.