Literary notes about smack (AI summary)
The word "smack" performs a range of functions in literature, often shifting its meaning with context. In some instances it denotes a distinctive quality or flavor, as when language or art is said to "smack" of honor, truth, or a particular character, evoking subtle nuances and associations ([1], [2], [3]). In other passages, it vividly captures the impact of a physical blow or a quick, staccato sound—a light tap or a harsh strike—that adds immediate sensory detail to the narrative ([4], [5], [6]). Additionally, "smack" can serve as a nautical term referring to a type of boat, thereby grounding the narrative in a specific cultural or maritime context ([7], [8], [9]). This multiplicity of uses allows authors to layer meaning through sound, touch, taste, and even the very names of things, enriching the reader’s experience with its versatile adaptability ([10], [11]).
- So well thy words become thee as thy wounds; They smack of honor both.—Go, get him surgeons.
— from Macbeth by William Shakespeare - Certain it is that the poetry which flowed from him had a smack of all these dainties.
— from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Sometimes he says a rough thing or two, which is not agreeable to look at at first, but has a queer smack o' truth in it when yo' come to chew it.
— from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - The cat arched his back more than ever, mewed and gave Kashtanka a smack on the head with his paw.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - You've got to keep your hands under the table till I say 'Go.'” Smack went the cards round the table.
— from The Garden Party, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield - Smack went the whip, round went the wheels, Were never folks so glad!
— from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes - Within a week's time there sailed into Port Crooken the finest fishing smack that had ever been seen in the harbour of Peterhead.
— from Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker - Javel, senior, was then master of a trawling smack.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - The next day the entire crew of the trawling smack followed the funeral of the detached arm.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - The smell and taste of it all had a smack of Anísya Fëdorovna herself: a savor of juiciness, cleanliness, whiteness, and pleasant smiles.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - He was not sailorly, and yet he had a smack of the sea about him too.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson