Literary notes about Clean (AI summary)
In literature, the word clean is employed in a spectrum of ways, ranging from the literal to the metaphorical. In some works it denotes physical purity and order, as seen when describing chimneys made spotless without the reader ever considering their construction details [1] or portraying a village as "clean" [2] and tables set with clean cloths [3]. The term is also used to evoke moral or psychological renewal, inviting characters to wash away guilt or start life anew, as in the call for a clean slate [4] or the promise of redemption through cleansing [5]. Additionally, clean serves as a descriptor of precise, refined appearances, such as a face described as "clean as a chiselled thing" [6] or a man keeping himself clean-shaven [7, 8, 9]. This versatility enriches narrative texture by linking the physical state of being clean with ideas of integrity, renewal, and meticulous care in both everyday and symbolic contexts [10, 11].
- They’re specialists, and when they get done, you will enjoy clean chimneys without knowing anything about the construction of chimneys.”
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - Next day I accompanied the two Admirals on shore to the clean little village of Moji.
— from A Diplomat in Japan by Ernest Mason Satow - There was a regular dining table, with clean tablecloth, dishes, knives, forks, spoons, etc., etc.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - Enter upon to-morrow with a clean slate and a free mind.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - “The liar, the thief, the murderer, and the adulterer may here wash and be clean,” says the Rev. Mr. Parker, in his book.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain - He turned and looked at her, at her face clean as a chiselled thing, her hair chiselled back by the wind, her fine nose keen and lifted.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - His face was clean shaven and rather pale, and his hair, showing below his hat, was somewhat gray.
— from Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter - He is clean-shaven, pale, and ascetic-looking, retaining something of the professor in his features.
— from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Clean-shaven , with finely-cut features , dark-haired and dark-eyed .
— from An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde - Himself let no one spare nor flatter, But make clean conscience in the matter.
— from Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes by Jean de La Fontaine - “To make a clean breast of it, I didn’t,” said the other, with some humour.
— from The innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
