Artless

Madame Draga's establishment was a meeting-ground for naked truths and over-dressed fictions, and it was here, the Woman felt, that she might make a final effort to recall the artless mendacity of past days. ❋ 1870-1916 Saki (1893)

The scene, so highly interesting to those who witnessed it, was to him insupportable, and he had left the room in agony, bitterly inveighing against his own folly, for having suffered it to take place, and secretly denouncing future vengeance upon the usurper of his rights, for so he basely termed the artless Yamboo. ❋ Anonymous (1812)

It is fair to call the narrative a technology because it is frequently described as "artless"; that is, it seems to work without the application of a designing mind. ❋ Unknown (2002)

In Sky I first observed the use of Brogues, a kind of artless shoes, stitched with thongs so loosely, that though they defend the foot from stones, they do not exclude water. ❋ Unknown (2003)

They are "artless" only insofar as they embody an aesthetic distinct from the abbey's inventory of images made by professional artists. ❋ Hamburger, Jeffrey (2002)

I wrote "artless" as a politer way of saying that it seems simple-minded and vulgar to hope that one's friends look like movie stars. ❋ Drew, Bettina (1990)

His own scores reveal him as the most artful of 'artless' composers. ❋ Unknown (1921)

Yet in spite of this dreadful tenue he greeted me without embarrassment and indeed with a kind of artless pleasure. ❋ Harry Leon Wilson (1903)

[484] 'In Sky I first observed the use of brogues, a kind of artless shoes, stitched with thongs so loosely, that, though they defend the foot from stones, they do not exclude water.' ❋ Boswell, James, 1740-1795 (1887)

Beside this group of, in every sense of the word, 'artless' little country girls, I will now set one -- in the best sense of the word -- 'artful' little country girl, -- a sketch by Gainsborough. ❋ John Ruskin (1859)

You feel, do not you, in this typical work of Gainsborough's, that his subject as well as his picture is 'artless' in a lovely sense; -- nay, not only artless, but ignorant, and unscientific, in a beautiful way? ❋ John Ruskin (1859)

The wild circle of some species of creepers was very agreeable; and conveyed a sensible pleasure to every one who delighted in this kind of artless harmony. ❋ Robert Kerr (1784)

In asking the court to impose a fine and not jail time or probation, Crown attorney Victor Bellay described the plot as "artless" and argued that having to shell out for his crime would show that "defrauding MPI doesn't pay."

"artless" woman, it is a construct that perhaps resonated even more strongly on the American side of the Atlantic. ❋ Unknown (2006)

Parky claims Brand is 'artless, unfunny and creatively dull' ❋ Marina Hyde (2010)

As indicated, this week Parky took it upon himself to lament the "foolish ambition" of celebrities who think they can be chatshow hosts, as well as going on Five Live to call Russell Brand pointless, artless, unfunny and creatively dull. ❋ Marina Hyde (2010)

His deceptively artless comedy, usually based on his role as "The Gump", a downtrodden, sad faced little man in a battered cap and a deplorably ill-fitting suit, concealed immense technical skill, superb comic timing, and a sharp business mind. ❋ Maev Kennedy (2010)

Johan Kobborg is Cojacaru's Onegin, and in the first two acts he is a marvellous foil to Tatiana's artless, undefended emotion. ❋ Judith Mackrell (2010)

Those of us who had always admired him felt privileged to see a master of his craft allowing a glimpse of the astonishing skill and body control that had gone into something that seemed so effortless and artless. ❋ Stephen Dixon (2010)