2022/08/14

If needed, whitely add a complacent drop of milk

 A transferred epithet is a literary device that sneaks a human adjective next to an inanimate noun, like a "sleepless night" that follows "greedy portions" at a "tense dinner". Or like "human adjective" and "inanimate noun".

Us epithet transferrers, our happy days run different.

We silence the startled alarm clock. We squeeze sleepy toothpaste. But sipping a shot of coffee, even an indifferent one, gets us jumping on an optimistic treadmill. Then again at the other end, right before we turn off the jaded lights and hit a yawning pillow,  we do the nostalgic dishes staring out the window, and curl up with a pleased P. G. Wodehouse. In between, the tugs are many: reluctant meetings, inattentive television, and the guilt of unread browser tabs. Our pens may lack imagination and our chairs may be restless, but these are amid walls youthful under a roof united.

Sure, impatient leftovers are reheated, forgetful appointments not booked, and outright drunken noodles sometimes spilt on some clumsy article of clothing. But there's always the post-nap afternoon, that time when we feel up to making the transfer both ways. In particular, there's the moment in which we aromatically stir our smiling teacup and suck viscously the absent-minded spoon of honey.

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See also:

The Transferred Epithet in P. G. Wodehouse
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4177754