Literary notes about addlepated (AI summary)
In literature, "addlepated" is used to characterize characters as confused, foolish, or scatterbrained, often in a humorous context. One character even attributes his irrational behavior to a head injury that rendered him addlepated [1], while another ponders whether any human could be as addlepated as he [2]. The term also serves as a playful yet pointed form of insult, as when a remark is made against an "addlepated dot-com refugee" [3] or a "greasy, addlepated bounder" [4]. At times, it is employed to emphasize the absurdity of a character’s mental process or to evoke a sense of befuddlement within the narrative [5][6]. Overall, the word enriches the text by blending wit with a touch of disparagement, highlighting the intricacies of human folly.
- "Either that girl has bewitched me," he muttered, lying back in his chair, "or else the cut in my head has been making me addlepated all day."
— from From Kingdom to Colony by Mary Devereux - Was it possible for any allegedly human to be as addlepated as I?
— from Greener Than You Think by Ward Moore - Not because Tor is run by addlepated dot-com refugees who have been sold some snake-oil about the e-book revolution.
— from Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow - Overboard with you, you greasy, addlepated bounder!
— from Captain Scraggs; Or, The Green-Pea Pirates by Peter B. (Peter Bernard) Kyne - It’s a strange thing, too,” continued he, “that what they see in one case, forms no precedent or guide to their addlepated brains in another.
— from The Life of a Foxhound by John Mills - He wrote to Zio Giacomo, who said he was an addlepated and clot-headed imbecile.
— from The Devourers by Annie Vivanti
