They were attracted by Notting Hill's central location, large houses and communal gardens and by the raffish lifestyle associated with the area.

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But eventually he turned up again, sporting a rather raffish torn ear in a sort of "You should see the other cat" kind of way.

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One of Isozaki's other pet hates is the Tokyo Metropolitan Office complex (Tange Kenzo, 1991), which juts aggressively skyward in the raffish Shinjuku part of town.

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By the 1970s, however, raffish Sydney had come into its own, and it has outstripped Melbourne ever since as the favoured headquarters of businesses and cultural bodies.

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Gone is the patience with the raffish Ryan.

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If we can flash back to that time: Those Jets were coming off an AFC Championship run in the inaugural campaign of head coach Rex Ryan, and the surprise contender, long New York doormats, had a raffish charm.

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It is a tawdry, depressing and often confronting scene during the day, but at night the stretch has a raffish and oddly alluring charm, underpinned by neon lights, pumping music and crowds of suburban revellers who gawk and giggle their way between a huge number of bars, pubs and clubs, many of which are open 24 hours.

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