Literary notes about Sliver (AI summary)
The term “sliver” is employed to evoke imagery of something exceedingly thin or minute—a fragment capable of both literal and metaphorical weight. In many narratives it designates a small piece of a larger whole, such as a fragment of lead or wood that carries with it the potential for destruction or transformation ([1], [2], [3]). In other contexts, it suggests a barely perceptible amount or remnant, capturing delicate nuances like the faint glow of a sliver of sunlight or the minimal relief felt in a moment of despair ([4], [5], [6]). Additionally, the word can serve as a proper name imbued with character, lending an air of distinctiveness or irony to individuals within a story ([7], [8], [9]). This versatility underlines the layered and inventive role that “sliver” plays in literature, balancing both tangible details and abstract symbolism.
- A sliver of lead from the bullet that had demolished the lock of the cell had struck him in the right eye, completely destroying the optic nerve.
— from With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman - He slid the knife along the wagon's tailboard, and a long sliver of wood curled up.
— from We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run by Jim Kjelgaard - Whack, came the mallet on the chisel, and a sliver of wood curled up in front of it.
— from Rewards and Fairies by Rudyard Kipling - What a relief to move, but it wasn't even a sliver of the relief she felt when she looked down at the sheaf of letters awaiting Steve's signature.
— from The Trail of Conflict by Emilie Baker Loring - It was a dim, sliver-like rim, alone, as it rushed down the unfathomable ocean.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe - It was a sliver of sunlight, moving as they watched.
— from Space Platform by Murray Leinster - At this Sliver, who had resumed his doze, sat up again.
— from Over the Border: A Novel by Herman Whitaker - If Sliver noted these desirable personal assets, his interest therein disappeared after he had spied the sign, “Fonda,” over the door.
— from Over the Border: A Novel by Herman Whitaker - Needn't to look so cocky, though, Sliver," he qualified his praise, "or I'll call up Michigan to teach you how to crack a whip."
— from The Settler by Herman Whitaker
