Literary notes about clench (AI summary)
The term "clench" frequently appears in literature as a vivid physical manifestation of emotional intensity and determination. It is often portrayed as the act of tightening one's grip or teeth—a signal of inner turmoil, anger, or resolve—as seen when characters grit their teeth in despair or rage, or when their hands form a trembling fist in moments of stress ([1], [2], [3]). At times, the word also conveys a metaphorical sense of holding fast or securing an outcome, such as finalizing an argument or symbolically binding oneself to a course of action ([4], [5]). This duality enriches its literary use, allowing authors to evoke both the palpable physicality of human emotion and the abstract notion of internal commitment or restraint.
- Shrouded in thick melancholy, and eager for the little casualties that bring death: thus do they wait, and clench their teeth.
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - I’ll sit and clench my teeth and never tell you one thing.
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - "Shot in a duel, lad, killed on the spot!" said my uncle George, and I saw his big hand clench itself into a quivering fist.
— from Peregrine's Progress by Jeffery Farnol - And to clench the matter, Paul observed that towards the end of the despatch there was the number, .8537.
— from The Shadow of the Czar by John R. Carling - And to clench the matter outright, I thought it best to stoop across and kiss Ruby just once, by way of earnest.
— from The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories by Grant Allen
