What's a word for....

damselnat

OK, so I'm in the middle of writing, and I need a phrase or adverb or some word or combination of words to describe how my character is sighing, and thought maybe you guys on here might be of some help To put it in context, here's a bit of the part I'm working on:




Harry pots two reds in one. I can't help but scowl. He goes for blue this time and gets it. I dig the ball out of the pocket, down my drink in one swift mouthful, and fill it up again. And again. The game goes on like this for several minutes, until Harry decides it simply isn't polite to hog the table, and nicks two reds on his way to the green again. I step forward. Harry steps back. He rests his cue across his shoulders, arms slung casually over it. His shirt stretches across his lithe body, his chest sloping into the perfect narrow V of his waist. I lower my head and concentrate on the red ball in front of me. I get it.

'Emerson,' Harry says slowly as I stand up. 'We're - we're friends, aren't we?' He looks at me across the table. I try to decide which ball I should aim for next - pink or blue? I can't remember which scores the most points. Do I care?

'Are we?' Pink. Pink is just less than black. I clip the white. It just about nicks the pink, which goes nowhere. I grimace.

'I think we are.' Harry lowers his cue. I reach for my brandy.

'Well then I suppose we are.'

Harry sighs






For a bit more context, the two characters are ex lovers seeing each other for the first time in a long time, and Harry feels Emerson is being deliberately awkward, but he's about to ask for a favour. So he is exasperated, but his sigh cannot be quite as extreme as exasperation. It's more he's thinking, "I knew you were going to be like this" - but I have hit a total block, and cannot think of any appropriate phrase/word to express his thoughts via sigh! Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions? I'd be very grateful :P

Dave!

Is it kind of a sigh of resignation?

The internet says "resignedly" is a word!

damselnat

Hmm, I think not quite. It's more like exasperation, but as he's about to ask for a favour, he can't express his full exasperation/impatience/annoyance/resignation...I have a feeling this is going to bug me for a while! And I can't find my copy of Roget's, dammit! :cool:

Mr E

damselnat wrote: »

And I can't find my copy of Roget's, dammit! :cool:

Welcome to the 21st century, my friend.

http://thesaurus.com/browse/exasperation
http://thesaurus.com/browse/impatience
http://thesaurus.com/browse/annoyance
http://thesaurus.com/browse/resignation

damselnat

Yeah, I did try those sites first. Nothing. I may have to compromise :mad:

Mr.Nice Guy

'Harry groaned', perhaps? Or maybe 'Harry grumbled'?

To me, 'Harry sighed' on its own works okay. The context you can provide in the rest of the conversation which will hopefully put the sigh in context.

Failing that, how about just 'Harry shook his head'. It's quite ambiguous and might work well.

Best of luck anyways.

vitani

I think you could just leave it as 'Harry sighs'. You're writing from Emerson's POV, so he isn't going to know the exact emotion behind someone else's gestures or actions.

'Harry sighs' shows us that he's frustrated without completely spelling it out. I think it works fine as it is.

/just my 2c

alfa beta

exasperation is right - but as you said too extreme - so maybe go ahead and use it in a reduced way...

something like

Harry sighs. It's a sigh that hints at exasperation but settles for something less.

or

more simply

Harry sighs with mild exasperation.

something along those lines maybe...

trad

dejectedly

pickarooney

hereitcomesedly?

wilkie2006

Could it be "dispiritedly"?

I mean, Harry knows he's facing an uphill struggle, but still has to go through with it.

Dunlaffin

I think the phrase you want is "Harry surrenders with a sigh"

Dunlaffin

Dont want to divert the thread but it seems ridiculous to set up a new thread just too ask what is the phrase/word for that outward nasal sniff that confirms an acceptance of light humour ?

Das Kitty

Dunlaffin wrote: »

Dont want to divert the thread but it seems ridiculous to set up a new thread just too ask what is the phrase/word for that outward nasal sniff that confirms an acceptance of light humour ?

Shh! It's one of our most popular threads!

:pac:

ThePinkCage

Suggest conveying Harry's mood through body language rather than going for an adjective or adverb. Decide what emotion he's feeling and choose body language to reflect that emotion (shoulders slumped, grimace, eye rolling). The reader will pick up what you mean and it will increase the emotional impact, and the connection the reader feels with Harry.

Merkin

"Harry sighs" on its own works perfectly. I'm just finishing Stephen King's On Writing and he said a common rookie error is the overuse of adverbs. To say that he sighed dejectedly or sighed impatiently doesn't sound right. Couldn't you say:

Harry sighed. Emerson, sensing the frustration in his demeanour etc etc....