This is part of the opening paragraph of Chandler's brilliant story "Red Wind." Sometimes called the 79 hardest boiled words ever written, the full paragraph goes like this:
"There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge."
With that paragraph Chandler begins a story of revenge, greed and deceit that is the best of his short fiction and one of the greatest short stories ever written. In my opinion, if you read nothing else of Chandler, you should read "Red Wind"
