1.   He held his hand in the air, muttering Swahili curses as I wound the fabric round.

2.   I shivered and muttered a curse.

3.   She heard a sharp intake of breath and muttered a curse before he slammed the phone down.

4.   He muttered a curse under his breath.

5.   Curses were muttered in the dark.

6.   When James recently signed a bill requiring silent meditation by schoolchildren, he was heard muttering curses over an open television microphone.

7.   Some even muttered a curse before walking on.

8.   Ticked-off travelers heave a collective sigh of disgust and mutter curses in several languages.

9.   When an Albanian youngster approached another to shake his hand, the soldier muttered a curse and walked away.