She had a beaky nose, tight thin lips, and her eye could have been used for splitting logs in the teak forests of Borneo.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The description uses hyperbolic metaphors to paint a stern and formidable portrait of a woman's appearance.
- In plain terms
- Her face looks very sharp and serious, like a bird or a tool for cutting wood.
- What can you take from it?
- Physical traits can be exaggerated to convey personality or intimidation.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do physical descriptions shape reader perception?
- What does this say about the narrator's view?
Another view
The metaphor about splitting logs is so extreme it might distract from the actual description.
More from P. G. Wodehouse
I had not failed to interpret the significance of that dark frown, that bitten lip and those flashing eyes, nor the way the willowy figure had quivered, indica…
Permalink to quote #186 It just showed once again that half the world doesn't know how the other three quarters live.
Permalink to quote #188 My Aunt Agatha, for instance, is tall and thin and looks rather like a vulture in the Gobi desert, while Aunt Dahlia is short and solid, like a scrum half in t…
Permalink to quote #185
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