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Literary notes about Nudge (AI summary)

Writers employ the term “nudge” to convey more than a mere physical prod—it often embodies a subtle social cue or emotional signal that steers interactions and advances plot without a word being said. A gentle elbow bump might encourage someone to take action, much like the urging push in “[1],” while a familiar, affectionate tap, as seen in “[2],” imbues relationships with warmth and intimacy. At times, the nudge becomes a discreet emblem of responsibility or gentle reproach, as when it signals an impending shift in conversation or behavior in works by Dickens and Dumas ([3], [4]). Even in passages addressing decorum and etiquette, the nudge serves as an understated gesture that encapsulates a wealth of unspoken meaning ([5], [6]).
  1. I heard one of the women say to the old man, as she gave him a nudge with her elbow: "Go on, father!"
    — from My .75: Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75m/m Battery in 1914 by Paul Lintier
  2. "Yes," she whispers again as gently she gives me a nudge.
    — from Through Russia by Maksim Gorky
  3. And you needn't nudge him, Mr Jack Mullins, for I know your work begins early tomorrow, and I say the same to you.
    — from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
  4. By this arrangement D’Artagnan could nudge Porthos with his knee and make signs with his eyes to Athos and Aramis.
    — from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  5. This extremely artful suggestion Mr. Barkis accompanied with a nudge of his elbow that gave me quite a stitch in my side.
    — from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  6. If you would be thought a person of refinement, don't nudge or pat or finger people.
    — from Etiquette by Emily Post

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