I found myself amused and intrigued simultaneously with the thought of having a partner in the unlikely guise of a human assassin.

The most ebullient exhibition of the New York art season in the unlikely guise of a show of hand-stitched quilts from a remote, historically black community along the Alabama River.

When Judge Raouf called the prosecution attorney to order, telling him to curb the "political rhetoric," Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Mr. Hussein's half-brother, hitherto the most disruptive defendant, stepped forward in the unlikely guise of a champion of free speech.

The closed sign had long been up upon the Star of Bombay Curry Garden, and within the Swan, Gammon, in the unlikely guise of an East-ern swami, engaged Archie Karachi in fervent debate.

This was found in the somewhat unlikely guise of the Ford Thunderbird personal luxury coupe, which was undergoing a reincarnation that year also, and sharing features with that year's Ford LTD II mid-size car.

Despite this unlikely guise they reached Baghdad, where they sought refuge in the American Embassy.

THE most ebullient exhibition of the New York art season has arrived at the Whitney Museum in the unlikely guise of a show of hand-stitched quilts from Gee's Bend, Ala.

There is even entertainment shopping in the unlikely guise of a store dressed up as a monastery, stocked like a bazaar and with a virtual monk as personal shopper.

This trader, however, knew from experience that good customers often appeared in the most unlikely guises, and courteously nodded for her to continue.

That reaction, as timely as it is unruly, arrives in the unlikely guise of grunge.