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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]).
  1. So well thy words become thee as thy wounds; They smack of honor both.—Go, get him surgeons.
    — from Macbeth by William Shakespeare
  2. Certain it is that the poetry which flowed from him had a smack of all these dainties.
    — from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. Smack went the whip, round went the wheels, Were never folks so glad!
    — from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes
  7. 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
  8. Javel, senior, was then master of a trawling smack.
    — from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. He was not sailorly, and yet he had a smack of the sea about him too.
    — from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

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