Literary notes about squelch (AI summary)
The word "squelch" is deployed in literature with remarkable versatility, functioning both as an onomatopoeic descriptor and as a metaphor for suppression. In some contexts, authors evoke its sensory appeal—illustrating the sound of wet footsteps in mud [1], the heavy impact of bodies colliding with the ground [2], or even the soft crunch of a revolver's butt [3]—to convey a vivid, tactile experience. In other instances, "squelch" takes on a figurative role, denoting the act of stifling dissent or curtailing behavior, as when a character is forcefully subdued or silenced [4],[5],[6]. This dual usage enriches the narrative texture, making the word both an evocative auditory cue and a potent metaphor for control.
- You squelch to the river-bank over rotting weed, ankle-deep in slime, {176} half smothered by a cloud of gnats, and mosquitoes, and buzzing flies.
— from The West Indies by John Henderson - As he finished down came the butt of Rube's rifle on his head with a squelch, while mine did the same on the head of the next man.
— from On the Pampas; Or, The Young Settlers by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty - A bulky object fell with a heavy squelch in the middle of the street, a few yards from us.
— from Lilith: A Romance by George MacDonald - More than once, as I have shown, it has been my painful task to squelch in him a tendency to get uppish and treat the young master as a serf or peon.
— from Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse - “You referred just now to the prize-fighter,” Paul resumed after a few minutes, “but I am going to squelch that argument.”
— from The Ghost of Guir House by Charles Willing Beale - Why all the rush to squelch progressive education?
— from U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1971 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
