Literary notes about spatter (AI summary)
In literature, "spatter" conveys both the literal scattering of substances and a more metaphorical dispersal of effects that heighten sensory detail. Authors employ it to evoke vivid, tactile imagery—ranging from the unwanted streaks of mud on a character’s coat [1] to the violent scattering of bullets and shrapnel amid battle [2][3][4][5]. At times, it softens a scene, describing the gentle patter of rain or droplets that mark a quiet moment [6][7][8]. In other instances, the term extends to creative expression, as when ink or paint is dynamically flung onto a surface, adding an artistic texture to the narrative [9][10]. Through such varied applications, "spatter" enriches texts by seamlessly blending physical sensation with symbolic depth.
- And if Bumper gets clean in time, and Billy doesn’t spatter more mud on him, you will hear in the next story of how Bumper met Mr. Beaver.
— from Bumper the White Rabbit and His Friends by George Ethelbert Walsh - The spatter of skirmish firing was added to the thunder of the guns on the hill.
— from The Little Regiment, and Other Episodes of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane - From the distance came a sudden spatter of firing.
— from The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane - The giant strove to raise his blade, but the effort caused a red jet of blood to leap from his throat, and spatter down upon his breast-plate.
— from Tekla: A Romance of Love and War by Robert Barr - The rush of feet, the spatter of shots, the cries, the swollen faces seen like masks on the smoke, resembled a happening of the night.
— from The Open Boat and Other Stories by Stephen Crane - The drive back from Langeais to Tours was long, slow, cold; we had an occasional spatter of rain.
— from A Little Tour of France by Henry James - He spurred his horse as he again felt a spatter of rain.
— from Sundown Slim by Henry Herbert Knibbs - Then with a swish of leaves in the wind and a spatter of rain in their faces, the candle blew out.
— from Judith of the Cumberlands by Alice MacGowan - I have no doubt at all the Devil grins, As seas of ink I spatter.
— from Rhymes of a Rolling Stone by Robert W. (Robert William) Service - The brush for spatter-work, the wiping-machine, and the dauber will be described in the description of the styles of work for which they are used.
— from The Invention of Lithography by Alois Senefelder
