Random hot phrase, that struck me the other day:
“I will break your spirit until I can quell your defiance with a single glance.” He smiled: “Indeed, I will break you to the point where there’s no defiance left to quell.”
And I can’t help reflecting on the different in that phrase between the singular and the plural. “We will break your spirit…” sounds so much more threatening, I think. Although a group might include one person who’d take mercy on her, a possible means of escape – whereas the singular gentleman concerned was clearly focused on what needed to be done.