Literary notes about eccentric (AI summary)
In literature, "eccentric" frequently functions as a descriptor for characters or actions that defy conventional norms, imbuing them with a unique, often unpredictable charm. Authors sometimes use the term to emphasize quirky behavior or unconventional choices—a character’s strange yet unexpected retreat [1] or even the unsettling presence of a person whose idiosyncrasies border on the bizarre [2]. Beyond character studies, "eccentric" also appears in technical or descriptive passages to denote unusual mechanical arrangements or physical peculiarities, as when it illustrates an oddly placed component in machinery [3][4]. In each context, the term enriches the narrative by highlighting traits that unsettle, intrigue, or even inspire admiration for their singular departure from the ordinary [5][6][7].
- How he had been sorely perplexed in what way to make a decent retreat, until the baron’s goblin stories had suggested his eccentric exit.
— from The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington Irving - She’s an extraordinary woman, you see, an eccentric woman; I tell you I am so frightened of that woman that I can’t sleep.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The eccentric has a throw equal to the breadth of a port + the lap of the valve.
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams - To effect this, the eccentric is set more [Pg 56] than 90° in advance—that is, more than what the engineers call square .
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams - He was so extremely calm, that I began to indulge in the eccentric hope of hearing something explanatory of the famous affair from his point of view.
— from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad - Mrs. Andrews’ only acquaintance with the word “genius” was derived from the colloquial fashion of calling any eccentric individual “a queer genius.”
— from Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery - That so few now dare to be eccentric, marks the chief danger of the time.
— from On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
