Literary notes about snigger (AI summary)
In literature, the term snigger frequently conveys a restrained, often conflicting blend of irony, derision, and uneasy amusement. Characters who snigger may be exhibiting subtle mockery or a cautious response to uncomfortable situations, as seen when a character in Sherlock Holmes delivers a stare and snigger that hints at both disbelief and self-satisfaction ([1],[2]). In other narratives, the snigger serves to punctuate moments of social awkwardness or internal conflict, such as in Kenneth Grahame’s work where Toad’s abrupt snigger infuses the scene with both humor and tension ([3]), or in Dostoyevsky’s writing where the snigger underscores the character's twisted inner life and societal reproach ([4],[5]). Overall, the word functions as a literary device that enriches character interactions by subtly highlighting the complexity of human reaction in moments of embarrassment, irony, or suppressed laughter ([6],[7]).
- Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say ‘sir’ and ‘please.’” “All right,” said Jones, with a stare and a snigger.
— from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say ‘sir’ and ‘please.’ ” “All right,” said Jones with a stare and a snigger.
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Here the unfeeling Toad broke into a snigger, and then pulled himself together and tried to look particularly solemn.
— from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - I hate his ugly throat, his nose, his eyes, his shameless snigger.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - “Those innocent eyes slit my soul up like a razor,” he used to say afterwards, with his loathsome snigger.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 'But in that case you must leave me alone with him, because I shall probably weep gallons of tears, and you'll only snigger at me.'
— from The Explorer by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham - There is no surer sign of imperfect development than the impulse to snigger at what is unusual, naïve, or exuberant.
— from Literary Taste: How to Form It With Detailed Instructions for Collecting a Complete Library of English Literature by Arnold Bennett
