Literary notes about clarify (AI summary)
The word "clarify" in literature encompasses both literal and metaphorical meanings. It is often used to denote the process of eliminating impurities or ambiguities—whether by physically filtering a substance, as in a culinary context where liquids are clarified with egg or charcoal ([1], [2], [3], [4]), or by refining an idea to remove confusion ([5], [6], [7]). In more abstract discourse, authors employ "clarify" to indicate the act of distilling complex thoughts or situations into clearer, more comprehensible forms, thereby sharpening philosophical arguments or personal reflections ([8], [9], [10], [11], [12]). This dual usage highlights the term's versatility in conveying both tangible purification and the illumination of thought.
- Clarify three quarts of good chicken broth with the whites of six eggs.
— from The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book by Victor Hirtzler - Used to clarify liquids, but is vastly inferior to bone-black, and does not abstract the lime from syrups.
— from Cooley's Cyclopædia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I by Richard Vine Tuson - Then pare a potato, wash clean, cut into thin slices and cook in the fat for a half hour to clarify it.
— from Things Mother Used to Make A Collection of Old Time Recipes, Some Nearly One Hundred Years Old and Never Published Before by Lydia Maria Gurney - About this period, it was the common practise in England to boil coffee in the good old-fashioned way, and to "fine" (clarify) it with isinglass.
— from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers - Let me clarify the statement about Dave.
— from Warren Commission (14 of 26): Hearings Vol. XIV (of 15) by United States. Warren Commission - Yes; and to clarify it on the last point here, about them being in Guatemala, in conversations with Nancy Tilton.
— from Warren Commission (09 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15) by United States. Warren Commission - To clarify, cut small all the pieces saved, and put them into a small kettle; cover it, and put it on the stove or range where it will not burn.
— from The Young Housekeeper's FriendRevised and Enlarged by Mrs. (Mary Hooker) Cornelius - There is nothing upon which to draw in order to clarify it.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - It is the only certain way to clarify your thought, to test it in advance of verbal expression and to examine it critically.
— from Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser - The sound of it seemed to clarify his muddled thoughts; and as they ranged themselves in order, he began to understand.
— from The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic - I guess that being treated like a terrorist for a few days was enough to clarify my thinking.
— from Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - It is the functioning of an abstraction in its application to a new concrete experience,—its extension to clarify and direct new situations.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey
