Literary notes about tidy (AI summary)
The word tidy is employed in literature as a flexible term that can describe everything from physical cleanliness and orderly arrangement to a broader sense of propriety and even moral alignment. In descriptions of personal care and domestic scenes, tidy conveys the neat and well-kept nature of individuals or households—for example, it is used to highlight well kempt appearances and maintained abodes ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, tidy appears in contexts that suggest efficiency or order in broader, sometimes ironic senses, such as when an orderly arrangement of events, objects, or even numerical groupings is noted ([4], [5]). Authors also deploy tidy to flag minor cues of character and restraint, as when a character is depicted as “reasonably tidy” or when the act of tidying up is a brief moment before moving on with greater things ([6], [7]). This multiplicity of uses underscores how tidy not only describes a state of physical order but also hints at an underlying discipline or harmony within a narrative.