Literary notes about Snivel (AI summary)
The term snivel is often employed in literature to evoke a sense of petulant or self-pitying lamentation, whether manifesting as literal nasal discharge or as a metaphor for feigned emotional weakness. It is used both to describe characters who actually exhibit tearful whining, as when a child starts to snivel in distress ([1], [2], [3]), and to denounce such behavior in others, urging them to maintain a tougher demeanor ([4], [5], [6]). Moreover, some authors imbue the word with irony by bestowing it upon characters—such as Mr. Snivel—whose names themselves hint at their less-than-heroic traits ([7], [8], [9], [10]). Whether critiqued, mocked, or simply noted, snivel serves as a versatile descriptor that captures the delicate interplay between physical expression and emotional vulnerability in various literary contexts ([11], [12], [13]).
- Understand?" The urchin began to snivel.
— from Wanted—A Match Maker by Paul Leicester Ford - And he began to snivel then, for the brandy had softened his heart.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - “Don’t, sar—please, don’t!” begged the boy, beginning to snivel.
— from The Mystery Boys and Captain Kidd's Message by Van Powell - But, as you say, Mr. Warrington, I ought not to snivel like a woman.
— from The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray - It is un-American to snivel, and as the old-time Western men would not have done so, neither shall we.
— from The Way to the West, and the Lives of Three Early Americans: Boone—Crockett—Carson by Emerson Hough - Whatever you do (and I address myself in particular to you in the furthest), never snivel.
— from Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 11 - Mr. Snivel, here, probably committed him ('Snivel!
— from An Outcast; Or, Virtue and Faith by F. Colburn (Francis Colburn) Adams - (Mr. Snivel methodically says he got it of McArthur, the antiquary.)
— from Justice in the By-Ways, a Tale of Life by F. Colburn (Francis Colburn) Adams - Mr. Snivel yawns and stretches his arms athwart.
— from An Outcast; Or, Virtue and Faith by F. Colburn (Francis Colburn) Adams - Mr. Snivel having helped himself to a cigar, says: "D—n me, if she didn't faint in my arms last night.
— from An Outcast; Or, Virtue and Faith by F. Colburn (Francis Colburn) Adams - On the day they are ordered out to battle, your soldiers may weep, [The word in the Chinese is "snivel."
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - If anything makes me sick at the stomach it is to see a boy snivel."
— from Mark Mason's Victory: The Trials and Triumphs of a Telegraph Boy by Alger, Horatio, Jr. - Put your handkerchief away—don’t snivel before me.
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
