Then, with a thump of such suddenness that for a moment it might have been taken for a warning of emergency or disaster, music again burst from the Star night club.

NEWYORKER: Bravado

The T-shirt gun had a new CO2 canister that blasted away with a healthy thump.

WSJ: Brooklyn Hype at Its Best

Then again, disgruntled Republicans in the House could send it crashing to the ground, with a sickening thump.

BBC: Taking it to the wire, and beyond

His speech meandered through a checklist of old-school Democratic mantras (funding social programs, ending discrimination) before it arrived on Gore's doorstep with a deafening thump.

CNN: Bradley takes one for the team

The Sandusky scandal landed with an icky thump in November, the long-buried secrets sliming the reputation of Penn State's football program and an idyllic spot proud to call itself Happy Valley.

CNN: June 17, 2012 -- Updated 2034 GMT (0434 HKT)

The year ended with a soft thump.

WSJ: Jason Gay: Let's Go Eat Another Bleeping Snack

Instead it was Flintoff who applied the coup de grace with a solid thump straight back down the ground over the ropes off Harris, to give England heart going into the one-day matches that begin with a Twenty20 international on 20 August.

BBC: Pietersen reign starts with a win

The building collapsed Friday with a "huge whoosh and then thump, " said Ali Jawad Bhimani, a hotel owner who lives near the building in Dar es Salaam's normally bustling Kariakoo central business district.

CNN: At least 17 dead in Tanzania building collapse

Ismaila starts to smile, and soon he is playing with his brothers: He gives his cousin a playful thump.

BBC: Senegal school abuse: Ismaila's story