Literary notes about Auger (AI summary)
The term auger appears in literature with a rich duality, serving both as an essential carpentry tool and as a potent metaphor. In technical texts and guides, it is frequently referenced as a practical instrument for boring holes—whether in wood, earth, or even doughnuts—as seen in historical treatises and handbooks [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. In literary and mythological narratives, authors employ the auger to evoke transformation or fate, as when Shakespeare likens destiny to a force hidden in an auger-hole [6, 7, 8, 9, 10] or when Norse texts describe the auger in the context of mythical acts [11, 12, 13, 14]. Even in modern storytelling the auger is framed both as a physical tool and as a symbolic device, underscoring its versatility across genres [15, 16, 17].
- The adze and auger are carpenters' tools.
— from The Alberta Public School SpellerAuthorized by the Minister of Education for Alberta by Anonymous - A saw, an auger, a froe, and a broad-axe would supply a whole settlement, and were used as common property in the erection of the log-cabin.
— from Life of Daniel Boone, the Great Western Hunter and Pioneer by Cecil B. Hartley - The tools needed are a sharp ax, a crosscut saw, an inch auger, and a spade.
— from Boy Scouts Handbook by Boy Scouts of America - It is possible to get along with nothing but an ax (many settlers had no other tool), but the spade, saw, and auger save much work.
— from Boy Scouts Handbook by Boy Scouts of America - This point fits into a hole pecked with a point or bored with an auger into the door-sill.
— from Boy Scouts Handbook by Boy Scouts of America - [202] Even the metaphor in the lines ( ii. iii. 127), What should be spoken here, where our fate, Hid in an auger-hole, may rush and seize us?
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - Your temples burned in their cement, and Your franchises, whereon you stood, confin'd Into an auger's bore.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - What should be spoken here, where our fate, Hid in an auger hole, may rush and seize us?
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - , Hid in an auger hole, may rush, and seize us?
— from Macbeth by William Shakespeare - [4062] Hid in an auger-hole, may rush, and seize us?
— from The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 7 of 9] by William Shakespeare - Then Bolverk drew forth the auger which is called Rate, and requested Bauge to bore a hole through the rock, if the auger was sharp enough.
— from The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson - Bauge thrust after him with the auger, but missed him.
— from The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson - Now Bolverk changed himself into the likeness of a serpent and crept into the auger-hole.
— from The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson - An auger used by Odin in obtaining the poetic mead.
— from The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson - The auger at last disappeared, when suddenly there was a slight disturbance on the deck above.
— from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte - The harmony of related parts—the balance of shaft and handle or the geometry of the twist—makes the auger a decorative object.
— from Woodworking Tools 1600-1900 by Peter C. Welsh - Its posterior extremity furnishes it with a strong-pointed auger.
— from The Insect by Jules Michelet
