Literary notes about tally (AI summary)
In literature the term tally is used with remarkable versatility, serving both as a literal means of counting and as a metaphor for correspondence or agreement. Authors often have characters mark a literal count—as when a piece of chalk is used on a tally-board [1] or notches are cut into stone [2]—while others harness its figurative power to compare qualities, align events, or assess compatibility, as seen in discussions of matching characteristics or calculated outcomes [3][4][5]. At times it underscores the precision of measurement, whether in reconciling accounts or in establishing narrative consistency [6][7][8], and at other moments the word contributes to the colorful language of dialogue and exclamations in adventurous settings [9][10]. This multifaceted usage enriches the texture of literary works by linking the tangible act of counting with abstract reflections on order and harmony.
- “Make fifty dolla’ to-day,” said the Italian, marking his tally-board with a piece of chalk.
— from Dr. Sevier by George Washington Cable - Greenish mottled stone with 14 tally marks or notches on each side of the stem.
— from American Antiquities. Auction Catalogue, January 8, 1898 by William B. Norman - Again, if he was Longinus, how far does his work tally with the xv characteristics ascribed to that late critic, and peculiar to his age?
— from On the Sublime by active 1st century Longinus - It is a wise man who can discover his limitations and select a medium the capacities of which just tally with his own.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - It shows a bad heart and does not tally with your reputation.
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - Each tally mark represents 300 pounds of coal, since the amount of coal in the barrow is adjusted at each weighing, so that the scales just balance.
— from Engineering Bulletin No 1: Boiler and Furnace Testing by Rufus T. (Rufus Tracy) Strohm - The old man helped the boy to transfer the bottles from the basket to the table and counted the full tally.
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - Her skipper, John Nelson, was keeping tally of the load upon a piece of board with the bullet end of a long rifle cartridge.
— from The Wind-Jammers by T. Jenkins (Thornton Jenkins) Hains - "Tally one for me," said the Scarecrow, calmly "What's wrong, my man?" he added, addressing the Soldier.
— from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum - “Tally-ho!” cried Strange, and let fly at them.
— from The Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 130, January, 1909 by Various
