Literary notes about Squabble (AI summary)
The term "squabble" is often used in literature to evoke the image of a petty, noisy disagreement, whether among family members or within a larger social or political context. Its usage spans from humorous domestic spats—as seen in references to marital or familial disputes ([1], [2]) and light-hearted banter among friends ([3])—to more significant political or communal conflicts where minor disagreements hint at deeper societal divisions ([4], [5]). Occasionally, the word even appears in descriptions of animal behavior, lending a playful or metaphorical quality to the narrative ([6], [7]).
- There had been a matrimonial squabble of a very ludicrous kind in the cabin, between the little German tailor and his little wife.
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - She probably wouldn't have wanted to give in; then there'd have been a continual squabble in the house and scandal among the neighbors.
— from Plays by Aleksandr Nikolaevich Ostrovsky - I am glad he is not, after all—though I wish you chaps would not squabble over the picture.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Governor Viana's administration was filled with what at first appeared a petty local squabble, but later developed into a serious conflict.
— from The History of Cuba, vol. 1 by Willis Fletcher Johnson - The Session has opened merrily with an angry squabble between Lord John Russell and the Radicals, at which the Tories greatly rejoice.
— from The Greville Memoirs, Part 2 (of 3), Volume 1 (of 3) A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1852 by Charles Greville - There was a squabble on the plank, which ended in the other muskrat's diving for a mussel for himself.
— from A Watcher in The Woods by Dallas Lore Sharp - But if the swallows squabble among themselves and fly away Out of the temple, refusing to agree, Then The Most Wanton Birds in all the World
— from Lysistrata by Aristophanes
