Kate Allan

The online diary of Kate Allan, author

Monday, January 03, 2005

To cuff (verb)

Occasionally I use a thesaurus when I have a word /s but can't think of anything quite right to express what I want.

I love the visual movement of clothing. A man's coat, for example, can show the anger in an exit, or the arrival of masculine power. In the scene I've been writing I wanted it to hint at something sinister about the character of the man wearing it.

None of the verbs I could think of seemed to work.

The coat slapped his calves.... no
... lapped against his calves... no
... hit his calves... no
... swished... no

The thesaurus had it - cuffed

cuffed his calves

I like cuffed. Because of the suggested violence. Pretty sure I've never used it before as a verb.
It sets the coat in opposition to its wearer. Even his coat hated him...!


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