Literary notes about twinge (AI summary)
The term “twinge” is frequently employed to evoke a brief, piercing sensation that can be both physical and emotional. In literature, it captures everything from a sudden bodily pain—as when a character feels a sharp jolt in a limb or a familiar ache [1, 2, 3]—to a fleeting stir of the conscience, jealousy, or sorrow that hints at deeper feelings beneath the surface [4, 5, 6, 7]. Its use not only intensifies sensory detail but also subtly underscores the human vulnerability of characters, bridging the gap between tangible physical ailments and their more elusive, emotional counterparts [8, 9, 10].
- "My ankle is still weak, you know, and I felt a sudden twinge from standing on it.
— from The Deliverance: A Romance of the Virginia Tobacco Fields by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow - ‘Now then, doc,’ I said, and tried to sit up in bed, but my right foot gave me a nasty twinge as I did so.
— from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - There was a twinge of pain, but Jurgis was used to pain, and did not coddle himself.
— from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - He might suffer the least rudimentary twinge of conscience in whatever he did, and in just so far he was evil and sinning.
— from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser - Kennon felt a twinge of pity—so young—so young to die.
— from The Lani People by Jesse F. Bone - “Thank you, Mrs. Poyser,” said Arthur, not without a twinge.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - And to think, it came to Larry with a new twinge of shame, that he had suspected this gallant man of mutiny!
— from Astounding Stories of Super-Science January 1931 by Various - I knew he was feeling the first savage twinge of the agony that was to come.
— from There is a Reaper ... by Charles V. (Charles Vincent) De Vet - It was the first twinge of homesickness, the first realization of the [Pg 59] greatness of the world around him, and his own insignificance within it.
— from Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy by Margaret Horton Potter - Now, you were dredfully mistaken, for I aint had a twinge of the rheumatics for a long time.
— from Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville Militia by Seba Smith
