In literature, the term "collateral" is employed with a rich versatility that ranges from the concrete to the abstract. In financial contexts, it denotes assets pledged to secure loans or financial agreements, as seen when a man lays his hands on collateral to secure a loan [1] or when stocks are accepted as collateral for a loan proposal [2]. The word also surfaces in discourses about indirect or secondary effects, describing incidental consequences or supporting evidence—whether referring to the collateral benefits received by shareholders [3], the collateral effects of fire [4], or the collateral testimony that bolsters an argument [5]. In genealogical and historical narratives, "collateral" extends to denote branches that are not directly descended, illustrating the concept with references to collateral connections in family lineages [6] and collateral branches of descent [7]. Even in linguistic treatises and anatomical descriptions, the term is applied to convey related or variant forms [8] and to describe lateral structures such as collateral ligaments [9]. Overall, "collateral" enriches literary language by offering a layered nuance that encompasses security, support, and the indirect threads that connect disparate elements within a narrative.