Literary notes about douse (AI summary)
The word "douse" in literature emerges as an adaptable term, often used both to describe the literal act of extinguishing light or fire and to evoke more figurative actions. Authors command characters to “douse the lights” or “douse that mainsail” ([1], [2]), highlighting its functional role in nautical and dramatic scenes, while in other situations it signals the physical act of pouring water over someone or something—whether to quench a fire ([3], [4]) or even as a form of rough reproach or humor when a character is told to “douse your friend with a pail of water” ([5], [6]). This multifaceted use, ranging from the practical to the jocular, underscores the term’s enduring versatility and its capacity to enrich narrative tone across diverse contexts.
- "Look you, my fine fellow, douse that mainsail now, and furl it in a trice."
— from Redburn. His First Voyage Being the Sailor Boy Confessions and Reminiscences of the Son-Of-A-Gentleman in the Merchant Navy by Herman Melville - Well, it's close on time to douse lights, so we won't stay."
— from The Third Officer: A Present-day Pirate Story by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman - In any event, there was nothing we could do except douse it with buckets of water from the moat.
— from The Image and the Likeness by John Scott Campbell - "We won't trouble to douse the fire," Doctor Joe suggested presently.
— from Troop One of the Labrador by Dillon Wallace - Douse a dipper of water over him, you Latham, quick.
— from Foes in Ambush by Charles King - "Go douse your friend with a pail of water, Mouse."
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story
