Literary notes about dither (AI summary)
The word “dither” is used in literature to evoke a range of meanings—from a physical trembling or shaking to an emotional state of nervous agitation, and even as a metaphor for the subtle, almost imperceptible movements that animate art and machinery. In several instances it illustrates a character’s distress or indecision, as when someone “was in a dither” or their fingers “absolutely dither” with nervousness ([1], [2], [3]). At times, however, the term is employed to describe a delicate, controlled play of movements—conveying both a sense of precision and life in technical contexts, such as in the careful “dither” observed in the drawing process ([4], [5], [6], [7]). Moreover, it can stretch to describe even cosmic phenomena, imbuing the narrative with an otherworldly quality ([8], [9]).
- My, but he was in a dither. Said some dreadfully rude things to me.
— from The Tarn of Eternity by Frank Tymon - I went all o' a dither, while I hardly knew if I were standin' on my heels or my heead.
— from More Tales of the Ridings by F. W. (Frederic William) Moorman - You don't know what agonies I go through when I'm asked to play my violin before visitors—I'm so nervous that my fingers absolutely dither.
— from The Head Girl at the Gables by Angela Brazil - The word "dither" will be a useful name to give 72 that elusive quality, that play on mechanical accuracy, existing in all vital art.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - There must be enough play between the vital parts to allow of some movement; "dither" is, I believe, the Scotch word for it.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - Yet, however perfect your system, don't forget that the life, the "dither," will still have to be accounted for, and no science will help you here.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - Without the stimulus of nature before him it was difficult to preserve the "dither" in the drawing, and the life has escaped.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - The universe goes into a cosmic dither when we slide into a berth in Hampton Rhodus.
— from Operation Earthworm by Joe Archibald - The naked lightnings in the heaven dither And disappear.
— from Some Imagist Poets: An Anthology by Richard Aldington
