Is asperity quantized?

Sunday August 05, 2007 @ 01:34 PM (UTC)

Yesterday I heard Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever” on NPR’s Selected Shorts. She uses, as so many writers before and since, the phrase “a touch of asperity.” Why is it always a touch of asperity? Not a generous helping, or a tablespoon, or a sprinkling? Does asperity only naturally occur in the amount ‘touch’?

Post a comment

Comments

New comment

required, won't be displayed (but may be used for Gravatar)

optional

Don't type anything here unless you're an evil robot:


And especially don't type anything here:

Basic HTML (including links) is allowed, just don't try anything fishy. Your comment will be auto-formatted unless you use your own <p> tags for formatting. You're also welcome to use Textile.

Copyright © 2017 Felicity Shoulders. All rights reserved.
Powered by Thoth.