Literary notes about leer (AI summary)
The word "leer" in literature serves as a multifaceted tool to convey a range of emotions, from scorn and derision to mischievous wit and sly charm. Often, it is employed to signal a character’s dubious or predatory nature—a sneering or mocking glance that hints at a deeper malice, as when a look is described as both disreputable and conveying triumph or cruelty [1, 2, 3]. Conversely, a leer can carry an ironic or humorous overtone, suggesting ingratiation or wry amusement rather than outright malevolence [4, 5, 6]. In works by Dickens, Hardy, and others, this ambiguous facial expression subtly exposes underlying character traits and emotional tensions, allowing a single glance to reveal complex inner lives and social commentaries [7, 8, 9].
- But the right side of his face became dissipated and disreputable, with a leer in the eye end a scornful, sneering curve to the lip.
— from Futuria Fantasia, Fall 1939 by Ray Bradbury - "Are you quite ready to proceed with the case?" inquired the judge with a courtesy in which was ill concealed a leer of triumph.
— from Tutt and Mr. Tutt by Arthur Cheney Train - the devil’s in this woman,’ muttered Arthur; adding with an ugly leer, ‘I said I trusted everything to you, Peg.
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - "Hey, good-looker," he dropped to an ingratiating whisper, with a leer to increase the effectiveness of his words.
— from Mountain: A Novel by Clement Wood - 'You don't mean to go yourself, I suppose?' said Charley with a humorous leer.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - And with a would-be roguish leer and wink, Said—“Sutherland, in one word, bid them Think!”
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns - I thought I saw him leer in an ugly way at me while the decanters were going round, but as there was no love lost between us, that might easily be.
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - One could almost be positive that there was a malicious leer upon the hideous creature's face, and a mischievous delight in its twitchings.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - a lady!" cried Jeffries, with a leer round the table; "we must see the lady.
— from The Fate: A Tale of Stirring Times by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James
