I turned to Aunt Agatha, whose demeanor was rather like that of one who, picking daisies on the railway, has just caught the Down express in the small of the back.

Aunt Agatha's expression is compared to the shock of being struck by an express train. Daisies make the imagined scene start innocently, which makes the blow more absurd. The huge mismatch between a look and a railway collision gives the description its comic force.

Context reviewed 24 September 2026