Literary notes about only (AI summary)
The word "only" is a versatile adverb used to restrict or emphasize meaning in literature. Authors employ it to limit scope, specify singular instances, or underscore minimal degrees. For instance, in one passage a character's life is confined to having occurred "only a short time ago" [1], while in another, a modest cost is highlighted by noting it "only costs a small French crown" [2]. It can narrow down quantitative and qualitative aspects—as seen when it emphasizes exclusive conditions or minimal variations, such as "with only a little wider margin of voluntary variation" [3] or the sole importance of a telegram amid distractions [4]. In dialogue and narration alike, "only" subtly reshapes reader attention by marking something as uniquely restricted or singular, turning everyday details into focal points for interpretation.
- Sogsogot is supposed to have lived only a short time ago, and his experiences are well known to all the people.
— from Philippine Folk Tales - The table d’hote is excellent, and only costs a small French crown, and one can get good lodging for the like sum.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - All men act in this way, with only a little wider margin of voluntary variation.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - The telegram still remains the only solid thing with which we have to deal, and we must not permit our attention to wander away from it.
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
