He asked the question like he copied it off a bus station mens room wall...
January 19, 2011 12:37 PM Subscribe
I was just looking through the new issue of Harpers, and they have some excerpts from a notebook of Raymond Chandler's, where he is apparently riffing descriptions for future use. What are these devices called?
A sampler:
"As cold as Finnegan's Feet"
"As shuny as a clubwoman's nose"
"As cute as a washtub"
"So tight his head squeaks when he takes his hat off"
"Lower than a badger's balls"
"Smart as a hole through nothing"
"A face like a collapsed lung"
"A nose like a straphanger's elbow"
"As French as a doughnut"
Is there an official, specific name for this type of literary device (other than awesome noir Chandlerisms)?
Also, what are your favorite noirish Chandler-esque descriptions of people, places, and things? His, or yours.
A sampler:
"As cold as Finnegan's Feet"
"As shuny as a clubwoman's nose"
"As cute as a washtub"
"So tight his head squeaks when he takes his hat off"
"Lower than a badger's balls"
"Smart as a hole through nothing"
"A face like a collapsed lung"
"A nose like a straphanger's elbow"
"As French as a doughnut"
Is there an official, specific name for this type of literary device (other than awesome noir Chandlerisms)?
Also, what are your favorite noirish Chandler-esque descriptions of people, places, and things? His, or yours.
oops, extra i in there... Simile, pronounced sih-mih-lee
posted by brainmouse at 12:41 PM on January 19, 2011
posted by brainmouse at 12:41 PM on January 19, 2011
Response by poster: Jesus...you know, I swear I have known that since like fourth grade. Why was I thinking it was something more involved? Thank's brainmouse.
posted by timsteil at 12:44 PM on January 19, 2011
posted by timsteil at 12:44 PM on January 19, 2011
"So tight his head squeaks when he takes his hat off" is a metaphor.
posted by pardonyou? at 1:05 PM on January 19, 2011
posted by pardonyou? at 1:05 PM on January 19, 2011
No, "So tight his head squeaks when he takes his hat off" is hyperbole. There is no comparison there.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 1:20 PM on January 19, 2011
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 1:20 PM on January 19, 2011
TimSteil, if you dig Chandler, pick up a copy of his Selected Letters.
It's a great read.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 1:24 PM on January 19, 2011
It's a great read.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 1:24 PM on January 19, 2011
Just chiming in to second the recommendation of Chandler's letters.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 3:57 PM on January 19, 2011
posted by fivesavagepalms at 3:57 PM on January 19, 2011
And thanks for the initial link whatever the reason. I would have missed it, which would never do
posted by IndigoJones at 5:43 PM on January 19, 2011
posted by IndigoJones at 5:43 PM on January 19, 2011
No, "So tight his head squeaks when he takes his hat off" is hyperbole. There is no comparison there.
Actually, Chandler almost certainly meant either "drunk" or "miserly" by "tight"--the comparison is between those forms of being "tight" and actual physical tight fits that result in squeaks, so yeah, that's a metaphor. He is not saying that the man is physically "tight" in either the yoga-teacher way or the hip-hop idiom, nor is he saying that his hat is too small.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:16 PM on January 19, 2011
Actually, Chandler almost certainly meant either "drunk" or "miserly" by "tight"--the comparison is between those forms of being "tight" and actual physical tight fits that result in squeaks, so yeah, that's a metaphor. He is not saying that the man is physically "tight" in either the yoga-teacher way or the hip-hop idiom, nor is he saying that his hat is too small.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:16 PM on January 19, 2011
Damn it, you're right! It's a metaphor. :P
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 9:29 PM on January 19, 2011
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 9:29 PM on January 19, 2011
(so quiet)"...you could have heard a mosquito crapping on the moon"
- Iceberg Slim
posted by screamingnotlaughing at 1:19 AM on February 5, 2011
- Iceberg Slim
posted by screamingnotlaughing at 1:19 AM on February 5, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brainmouse at 12:40 PM on January 19, 2011 [1 favorite]