I’m currently reading The Duke and I and the author is constantly using the word “acerbic”. I had never heard of the word before now and had to google the definition. The word has shown up so much that I’m tempted to go through the book and count its appearances lol.
Have you noticed any authors having favorite words that they use page after page?
Huxley used “pneumatic” a lot in Brave New World,to describe women. I interpreted it to mean they were voluptuous (“blown up”) but then my friend thought it meant they were windbags who wouldn’t shut up.😒Any clarification would be appreciated 😆
More prosaic, but I always notice that Jane Austen uses “cried” a lot, in place of words such as said, responded, retorted. It’s an odd feature that takes me out of the otherwise excellent writing and makes characters sound weirdly histrionic. Compare delivery by Elizabeth Bennett in the book vs the miniseries. “I deserve neither such praise nor such censure”, she cried in the book, but in the series she delivers the line with cool poise.