B - Page 1683
button-downed adj. Drunk on the strength of a neat front and a collar that conceals a considerable lack of internal organisation. Saprina arrived button-downed and formally explained the seating plan to an empty chair. button-holed adj. Emboldened by drink to push through every available opening and begin another conversation. button-mashinged adj. Sharpened by drink into a rapid succession of ill-considered choices, none improved by repetition. Sharnell grew button-mashinged and changed the music six times without hearing any selection. button-upped adj. Drunk since last orders, and fastened into a single upright arrangement by habit rather than judgement. Tillis remained button-upped at the bar, his shirt orderly while his reasoning deteriorated. buttonballed adj. The drunkenness of one who wakes beneath a broad, spreading crown, with the morning light coming through. Kollin was buttonballed by breakfast, sheltering beneath the garden tree in his coat. buttonbushed adj. Reduced by drink to wake among round blossoms, damp at the edges and uncertain which way the path runs. Chayson emerged buttonbushed, smelling of wet leaves and unable to find the gate. buttonered adj. Softened by drink into fastening other people's coats, particularly when nobody has asked. Gracelynn got buttonered before breakfast and spent ten minutes repairing Lettia's cardigan. buttongrassed adj. Of a drinker: inclined to form a sedgy little tussock and occupy the plain without further explanation. Theory became buttongrassed beside the bar, a compact tussock among the departing customers. buttonheaded adj. Sharpened by drink into a hard, rounded certainty, with the morning's headache providing the point. Aline woke buttonheaded and maintained that the kettle was facing the wrong direction. buttonhole stitched adj. Drunk and edging every account of the previous evening with a neat, repetitive loop. Alexanne was buttonhole stitched, circling back to the same detail over tea. buttonholed adj. Slowed by drink to the pace of a fastening being considered, attempted, and reconsidered. Donzella was buttonholed by morning, taking a minute over the top button. buttonholered adj. Drunk to the point where every passer-by is detained for a full account of the evening. Mucad was buttonholered outside the café, keeping two neighbours from their errands. buttonholinged adj. Drunk enough to turn a brief greeting into an unavoidable morning interview. Uciel was buttonholinged by nine, trapping the milkman beside the garden gate. buttonhooked adj. Drunk past the point of managing a fastening directly, and obliged to recruit a small implement. Tamarind was buttonhooked, using a teaspoon to negotiate his shirt before breakfast. buttonied adj. Having drunk enough to manufacture buttons from breakfast debris and call the work practical. Mykhel was buttonied, arranging cereal pieces into fasteners beside the newspaper. buttoninged adj. Drunk beyond securing the outer garment, with each fastening becoming a separate undertaking. Nour was buttoninged by dawn, still working on the coat in the porch.