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Literary notes about thrum (AI summary)

"Thrum" appears in literature as a versatile term that conveys both sound and a tactile quality. Its onomatopoeic use mimics rhythmic or pulsating auditory effects, as in musical instruments and machines that emit a steady, almost hypnotic regularity ([1], [2], [3]). The word is also employed to evoke the background hum of engines or ambient life, suggesting movement and persistent energy ([4], [5], [6]). In other contexts, "thrum" extends its reach to describe the action of fingers or hands on strings or fabric, imbuing common movements with a lyrical, measured vibration ([7], [8], [9]). Its adaptability is further demonstrated when it characterizes woven textures or ornamental features, adding a sensory layer to descriptions of objects and settings ([10]). This range of applications reveals how the term enriches narrative imagery through sound, touch, and rhythmic resonance ([11], [12]).
  1. "Thrum, thrum, thrum, thrummmm, thrummmmmmmmmmmm."
    — from The Little House in the Fairy Wood by Ethel Cook Eliot
  2. Thrum-thrum-tiddy-thrum went the Admiral's instrument.
    — from The Astonishing History of Troy Town by Arthur Quiller-Couch
  3. But he had not sat there more than a quarter of an hour, when he suddenly heard the thrum of a guitar somewhere quite close.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  4. Orchards flashed by; there was a rock tunnel, where the lights shone fiercely on rough-hewn stone, and the thrum of the motor became a roar.
    — from The Car of Destiny by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson
  5. I knelt on the deck and listened to the thrum of the diesel engines.
    — from Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
  6. With the steering-wheel in my hand, the steady thrum of the motor seemed to say, “You'll do it; you'll do it;—I'll help you to do it.”
    — from The Car of Destiny by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson
  7. Never thrum with your fingers, rub your hands, yawn, or sigh aloud in company.
    — from Searchlights on Health: Light on Dark Corners A Complete Sexual Science and a Guide to Purity and Physical Manhood, Advice To Maiden, Wife, And Mother, Love, Courtship, And Marriage by B. G. (Benjamin Grant) Jefferis
  8. There was one Anchises, a twice five-fingered Trojan, that (as old stories say) used to thrum her jacket.
    — from A Burlesque Translation of Homer by Bridges, Thomas, active 1759-1775
  9. His hands trembled as he continued to thrum upon the strings.
    — from If Any Man Sin by H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody
  10. The thrum is the fringed end of a weaver’s web; a thrum hat was made of very coarse tufted woollen cloth.
    — from It Might Have Been: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot by Emily Sarah Holt
  11. How she had to work and thrum at these duets and sonatas in the Street, before they appeared in public in the Square!
    — from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
  12. Within my ears I hear a "thrum;" Before my eyes there floats a haze; And mocking shadows flit and come, And make my nights a constant daze !
    — from Quips and Quiddities: A Quintessence of Quirks, Quaint, Quizzical, and Quotable

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