Literary notes about lean (AI summary)
The term "lean" appears in literature with a wide range of meanings, often denoting physical slenderness or minimalism as well as suggesting reliance or support. In some works, it describes a character’s thin, austere appearance or the mere fact of being slight—whether referring to a lean body, as conveyed in descriptions of an unadorned or persistent figure [1][2][3], or to livestock and provisions that are deliberately unencumbered [4][5][6]. At the same time, it frequently serves as a verb to evoke the imagery of physical support, whether a character leaning casually against a wall to steady himself [7][8] or even relying on another for comfort in tender moments of weakness [9][10]. This multiplicity of applications underscores the word’s adaptability, conveying both literal thinness and figurative states of reliance or sparseness.
- He was tall, strong and somewhat stiff; he was also lean and brown.
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - "Besides looking wicked, their faces were so strangely lean, and dark, and sullen.
— from Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu - Anna looked at his lean body, at his small, fine lean legs and lean hands as he sat talking, and she flushed.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - To any country which was highly improved throughout, it would be more advantageous to import its lean cattle than to breed them.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - our fare is the flesh of lean elk boiled with pure water, and a little salt.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis - Better a lean agreement than a fat sentence.
— from A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs - On informal occasions she can lean back in an easy chair with her hands on the arms.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - The water ran out of him as he went, and he was compelled to lean against the wall to support himself while coughing.
— from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy - You shall rest by my fireside, and lean your dear head upon my shoulder, and read, and I shall be glad.
— from Juliette Drouet's Love-Letters to Victor Hugo by Juliette Drouet and Louis Guimbaud - No, no; only lean on me; I will advise you and direct you.
— from A Doll's House : a play by Henrik Ibsen
