Literary notes about Barrel (AI summary)
The word "barrel" in literature carries a wealth of nuance and flexibility, serving both literal and metaphorical purposes. It frequently denotes a physical container—whether storing beer [1], pitch [2], or sugar [3]—while also representing measurements and quantities in economic or culinary contexts [4] [5]. Beyond its utilitarian sense, "barrel" appears in vivid descriptive imagery: characters are likened to barrels to stress their physical attributes [6] [7], and architectural elements such as barrel vaults enhance settings with their imposing curves [8] [9]. The term also pops up in dynamic scenes—from barrel organs filling the air with music [10] [11] to weapons with exposed barrels heightening dramatic tension [12] [13]—demonstrating its adaptability across genres and styles.
- The puzzle is to point out which barrel contains beer.
— from Amusements in Mathematics by Henry Ernest Dudeney - Herodotus) for the thief, instead of the more common barrel of pitch.
— from Filipino Popular Tales - Home came four dozen delightful little pots, half a barrel of sugar, and a small boy to pick the currants for her.
— from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - per bushel, supposed to be the quantity, at a medium, used in curing each barrel is added, viz.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - In that year, each barrel of sea-sticks cost government, in bounties alone, £113:15s.; each barrel of merchantable herrings £159:7:6.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - 31-4 In spite of his round face and huge, barrel-like stomach, Trailanga ate only occasionally.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Romeo was a stout elderly gentleman, with corked eyebrows, a husky tragedy voice, and a figure like a beer-barrel.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Three types of vault were commonly used: the barrel-vault, the groined or four-part vault, and the dome.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - A barrel vault gave the interior an aspect of spaciousness impossible with the Greek system of a wooden ceiling supported on double ranges of columns.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Then came a barrel-organ, on which Nozdrev started to play some tune or another.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol - It sounds as if the barrel were singing!"
— from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - She closed the gun, running her finger along the barrel.
— from Second Variety by Philip K. Dick - He cocked his pistol when the time came to do so, and raised the cold, heavy weapon with the barrel upwards.
— from The Duel and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
