Literary notes about tidbits (AI summary)
In literature, the word "tidbits" is employed with a rich duality, referring both to small, delectable morsels and to brief, enticing pieces of information. In some works, it vividly describes morsels of food—whether literal, as in culinary treatises that offer recipes for sauces and fried cutlets ([1],[2],[3]), or metaphorical, invoking images of scattered pieces and momentary pleasures at a meal ([4],[5],[6]). In other instances, "tidbits" serves as a figurative device, suggesting snippets of gossip or bits of insight that reveal character or circumstance, as when a character dispenses humorous or revealing remarks ([7],[8],[9]). This flexible usage not only enhances the sensory detail of the text but also encapsulates the idea of fragmentation—whether bits of sustenance or episodes of conversation—that adds both flavor and texture to the narrative ([10],[11]).
- [281] SAUCE FOR TIDBITS JUS IN COPADIIS PEPPER, LOVAGE, PARSLEY, SHALLOTS, TOASTED ALMONDS, DATES, HONEY, VINEGAR, BROTH, REDUCED MUST AND OIL.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - [264] TIDBITS ANOTHER WAY ALITER OFFELLÆ THE BALLS OR CUTLETS ARE [1] PROPERLY FRIED IN THE PAN, NEARLY DONE.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - [278] SAUCE FOR TIDBITS JUS IN COPADIIS PEPPER, LOVAGE, CARRAWAY, MINT, LEAVES OF SPIKENARD (WHICH THE GREEKS CALL “NARDOSACHIOM”) [ sic! ]
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - Mrs. Klopton herself saw me served, my bread buttered and cut in tidbits, my meat ready for my fork.
— from The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart - and I always was treated to all sorts of tidbits and candy.
— from Warren Commission (01 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15) by United States. Warren Commission - So, in the afternoon, the task was done, the pen and vicinity being the scene of the slaughter, and all the bloody tidbits placed inside the door.
— from Connor Magan's Luck and Other Stories by M. T. W. - There’s nothing wrong with the boy except his ineradicable temptation to impart to you his gratuitous tidbits of information.
— from The Prairie Child by Arthur Stringer - Wasn't he Arab?" Scott offered tidbits that he thought relevant.
— from Terminal Compromise by Winn Schwartau - But he held me by the hand, forcing out tidbits of information.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Old David, remembering Nora, occupied the moments while the waiter's back was turned, in secreting various tidbits in the pocket of his coat.
— from The Bird in the Box by Mary M. (Mary Martha) Mears - [27] Raymond enjoyed these tidbits of gossip about the Bridgeboro Troop, the members of which were all more or less heroes to him.
— from Tom Slade on the River by Percy Keese Fitzhugh