I'm revising stories and keep seeing clichés everywhere. If I use the Hemingway rule, it's easy to see which one below is simpler, but does it really matter?
Which is better:
His hair was redolent of salt and sweat. (original)
His hair smelled of salt and sweat.
~ JBB
His hair was redolent of salt and sweat.
I'd have to look up "redolent," so I'd go with the second, but that's me...
redolent
First meaning is "brings to mind".
And since salt really has no particular smell, perhaps redolent is the correct word.
First meaning is "brings to mind".
What dictionary?
Merriam Webster lists:
1: exuding fragrance : aromatic
2
a: full of a specified fragrance : scented
air redolent of seaweed
b: evocative, suggestive
a city redolent of antiquity
And since salt really has no particular smell, perhaps redolent is the correct word.
Salt by itself may not, but sweat does.
and seawater.
Seawater doesn't smell from the salt. The salt is odorless.
the smell of the sea comes primarily from volatile organic compounds, specifically dimethyl sulfide (DMS), produced by marine organisms like bacteria and phytoplankton. This sulfur compound, along with seaweed pheromones and bromophenols, creates the characteristic "salty" or briny odor.
& deadly. College students have even signed petitions to ban it.
Of course that's in their self interest. If drinking water is banned then the age restriction on alcohol consumption would have to be removed.
I prefer to call that substance hydroxyl acid, sounds so much more sinister. It can be written H(OH) so it's valid.
What dictionary?
Cambridge:
smelling strongly of something or having qualities (especially smells) that make you think of something else:
The album is a heartfelt cry, redolent of a time before radio and television.
And from Merriam-Webster:
Top Synonyms for Redolent:
Fragrant/Scented (Smell): Aromatic, perfumed, odorous, sweet-smelling, pungent, balmy, savory, odoriferous.
Evocative/Reminiscent (Suggestive): Suggestive, indicative, remindful, recalling, allusive, symbolic, expressive, bringing to mind.
So smell is one meaning while suggestive is another.
BTW, I'd never use the word. I had to look it up.
So smell is one meaning while suggestive is another.
I didn't claim otherwise, but Merriam Webster lists "exuding fragrance : aromatic" as the first definition unlike what the person I was replying to claimed.
And I don't think you have any way of knowing what dictionary he was using.
And I don't think you have any way of knowing what dictionary he was using.
Or the meaning of the sentence since it was taken out of context.
Or the meaning of the sentence since it was taken out of context.
Yes, but that was a different person, the OP for the thread. I was replying to a specific comment.
Or the meaning of the sentence since it was taken out of context.
I'm not sure that additional context is needed to understand what's going on. She's smelling his hair and describing her impression of its odor.
But if it helps, here's the context from Chapter Seven of Amélie:
That night on the island, she'd rolled over against Gérard. She smelled the salt on his skin, the fading aroma of her own scents that followed their vigorous lovemaking. His skin burned, it seemed to her, when she rested the pads of her fingers on his neck to feel his steady pulse. His hair, unkempt and uncut since their last port, was redolent of salt and sweat. She felt the stubble on his cheek. A visit to the barber at their next port would be in order, she thought.
ETA: I've enjoyed the comments and appreciate them. I'm keeping "redolent." After all, the reader is given a purple prose alert at the beginning. My only worry is that it probably isn't purple enough, although I do like "manchowder" when it appears here and there.
~ JBB
I'm not sure that additional context is needed to understand what's going on. She's smelling his hair and describing her impression of its odor.
The need for the context is simply:
Is she simply smelling his hair (which you now say is what it is) or is the smell of his hair reminiscent of something else?
So if she's simply smelling his hair, then "His hair smelled of salt and sweat" clearly says that. But "His hair was redolent of salt and sweat" could be followed by reminiscing about a time they spent making love on the beach. In the latter case, "redolent" would be the clearer choice.
Not that I'd use the word "redolent" anyway, but if all I wanted to describe was the smell of his hair I wouldn't use that word. Would it even show up as a synonym for "smell?"
ETA: it does show up as a synonym in Merriam-Webster.
First meaning is "brings to mind".
What dictionary?
Merriam Webster lists:1: exuding fragrance : aromatic
2
a: full of a specified fragrance : scented
air redolent of seaweed
b: evocative, suggestive
a city redolent of antiquity
See bold above; even MW agrees with 'brings to mind'.
I must be weird; I'll use it about once every couple of months or so (and I speak to very few people).
See bold above; even MW agrees with 'brings to mind'.
For the second time. I was not disputing that 'brings to mind' is a definition of redolent. The person I was replying to (irvmull) said 'brings to mind' was the first definition. It's third in MW.
First meaning is "brings to mind".
My dead tree Concise Oxford Dictionary has 'strongly reminiscent or suggestive of' first, followed by 'strongly smelling of'.
I believe the COD follows the usual standard, whereby the meanings are listed in decreasing order of frequency of use.
AJ
I'm non-English speaking and it's a new word for me, but if I had encountered it reading I wouldn't have stopped to look it up. Without further context I would assumed that the hair is messy somehow and leave it at that.
Without further context I would assumed that the hair is messy somehow and leave it at that.
Independent of what the different dictionaries say, "messy" is a reasonable general description of his hair, I think.
~ JBB
I like "redolent", though I think I'd use "redolent with" there. It's a good word, much deeper connotations than a simple "smelled".
Writing to the lowest common denominator is how the denominator keeps going down. Never been a fan of Hemingway.
I'll add that my thinking here is that "redolent of salt and sweat" is saying that the scent reminds you of salt and sweat, while "redolent with salt and sweat" is saying that the scent of salt and sweat brings to mind how he got salty and sweaty, and "smelled of salt and sweat" is just a bland statement of fact.
Also, you wrote earlier in the paragraph that she "smelled the salt on his skin", so if I were revising, I'd be looking more to avoiding repeating that than dumbing down the vocabulary.