Literary notes about squint (AI summary)
In literature, “squint” functions in a remarkably versatile manner. Authors use it both literally and figuratively: sometimes to denote a physical trait—a misaligned or narrowed eye that can mark a character as peculiar or unattractive ([1], [2], [3])—and other times to indicate the act of taking a quick, often scrutinizing glance ([4], [5], [6]). The word even emerges as a nickname or a defining label for a character, enhancing their identity by alluding to a distinctive appearance or perspective ([7], [8]). At times, “squint” ventures into metaphor, symbolizing a skewed or prejudiced view that colors the way one interprets the world ([9], [10], [11]). This multifaceted use enriches narrative tone by blending tangible physical descriptions with subtle, figurative insights into character and perception.
- He was a rather ugly man, with a disagreeable squint.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - I have contracted quite a squint by looking round for him, and yet Euripides does not come.
— from The Eleven Comedies, Volume 2 by Aristophanes - A woman, that occasionally worked for me, had a disagreeable squint; she was known in Indian by the name of Sachabo, “cross eye.”
— from Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie - Jack gets his breakfast, and has a good squint at the young lady, and also she at him.
— from English Fairy Tales - "Going to have a squint at that guide book?" queried Bolt shrewdly as he turned over the contents of a table drawer in search of the keys.
— from Men of Affairs by Roland Pertwee - I'm a man of business, and I took a squint at 'em.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - “I’m after Squint Taylor, an’ I’m goin’ to get him—that’s all!
— from The Ranchman by Charles Alden Seltzer - "Mebby we'll see him get two more tonight," said Squint.
— from Johnny Nelson
How a one-time pupil of Hopalong Cassidy of the famous Bar-20 ranch in the Pecos Valley performed an act of knight-errantry and what came of it by Clarence Edward Mulford - Well, well, I can squint along a clouded barrel yet, and that is enough to settle all disputes between me and the Mingoes.
— from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper - the whale would give them squint for squint, mind that!”
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - Such things lead to a false point of view, to a squint, to something forced and exaggerated.
— from The Twilight of the Idols; or, How to Philosophize with the Hammer. The Antichrist by Nietzsche