towering

A 40-ton gray whale surfaced beside me — spy-hopping, they call it — her towering grace lifting from the water, close enough that I could see the walnut shine of her left eye.

On many rural roads, repeated resurfacing has left the main road towering six to eight inches above the shoulder.

The house was simply gone, save the precarious, towering chimney and the massive concrete pillars that had supported the front porch.

The pre-match build-up was more rock concert than football match, with flames and pyrotechnics lighting up Villa Park, fireworks flying over either side of the stadium from the roof of the towering stands.

Mario Vargas Llosa, who has died at the age of 89 in his native Peru, was a towering figure in Latin American literature and culture who rarely shied away from controversy.