An onlooker spoke for many when he remarked that "a man who could make so vile a pun would not scruple to pick a pocket".

BBC: The pun conundrum

" That scruple and his unwillingness to welsh on a deal leads him to say, with irony, "Actually, I don't think I am a good 'businessman.

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

But it is only remote because such scruple and consistency were employed to defend the principle in matters great and small.

WSJ: Christopher Hitchens on Forced Merriment, the True Spirit of Christmas