Literary notes about Swivel (AI summary)
The term "swivel" is multifaceted in literature, serving to animate both quotidian details and dramatic machinery. It appears in contexts like a character’s pensive or nonchalant shift in a swivel chair—adding a touch of casual movement or reflective pause [1][2][3]—and also in descriptions of rotating weaponry or mechanical parts that underscore action and precision [4][5][6]. This versatile word not only conveys literal physical rotation but also enriches narrative scenes by symbolizing change and dynamism in both intimate and high-stakes settings.
- Don Winslow was sitting up in the Captain’s swivel chair, looking decidedly “green around the gills.”
— from Don Winslow of the Navy by Frank V. (Frank Victor) Martinek - He was unoccupied for the moment, leaning back in his swivel chair, his feet on the table, smoking a cigar.
— from Vandover and the Brute by Frank Norris - The girl turned slowly about in her swivel chair and regarded him respectfully but coolly.
— from The Crevice by William J. Burns - They had the gun, by this time, slewed round upon the swivel, and Hands, who was at the muzzle with the rammer, was in consequence the most exposed.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - The caravels, though only manned by thirty men, carried four heavy guns below, six falconets and twelve swivel guns.
— from A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499 - The combustion chambers were gimbal mounted to allow them to swivel, controlling the missile trajectory during the powered phase of flight.
— from Rockets, Missiles, and Spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
