Professional reviewers read so many bad books in the course of duty that they get an unhealthy craving for arresting phrases.
Source: In A Little Order: A Selection from His Journalism, ed. Donat Gallagher, 1981.
-- Evelyn Waugh, ( 1903-1966), English novelist; He is regarded by many as the most brilliant satirical novelist of his day; wrote Brideshead Revisited.