trying out

“At the far end of the scriptorium range in the cloister, under the south wall of the church, Brother Anselm the precentor was trying out a chant on his small hand-organ, a sequence of a half-dozen notes repeated over and over, like an inspired bird-call, sweet and sad.”

An Excellent Mystery

“So, here he was, Sherlock Holmes on his own again with the dubious assistance of an unlikely trio of Irregulars: a cadaverous Pinkerton who ought to be abed, a diminutive Chinese bookseller with a wide knowledge of arcane topics, and a red-headed modern-day barrow-boy trying out for a part in one of Conan Doyle's bits of airy nonsense.”

Locked Rooms

“The second was a much meatier check from a coin collector who had lost a case of cash from dead nations over the side of his yacht in Lake Michigan and resorted to trying out the only wizard in the phone book to locate them.”

Dead Beat

“Fred was eager to show the wonders of the great St. Lawrence to his friends and equally desirous of trying out the motor-boat.”

The Go Ahead Boys and the Racing Motor-Boat

“Not only did Ms. Pinkerton look like she was trying out some sort of glamour-girl Halloween costume a few weeks early, she’d also gone so far as to do her hair and makeup.”

Simon & Schuster: Maggie Bean in Love

“Reanne and Tamarla were on their feet — straightening their dresses, of course — and Vanin, peering into the room where Elayne was apparently trying out some more curses, seemingly with no more success than earlier.”

A Crown of Swords

“The best woman in the world will begin trying out a man before she's been married to him twenty-four hours; and unless he can smile over the top of a four-flush and raise the ante, she's going to rake in the breeches and keep them.”

Old Gorgon Graham

“In 1993 Keith Kozminski, then a graduate student at Yale, was trying out a flashy new microscope.1 The scope had all sorts of bells and whistles, including the ability to videotape cells in real time.”

Simon & Schuster: The Edge of Evolution

“Like Goldilock’s trying out the Bears’ hospitality, you don’t want a chest that is too big or too small.”

Simon & Schuster: Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume