# Snort/Snorting in Books



## lisarusczyk (Jan 16, 2011)

What do you think of when a character snorts in a book?


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

I think of a particular white powdery substance. 

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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Haha, I had the same thought as VA when I saw the thread title.


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## tsilver (Aug 9, 2010)

I think of tight-lipped people, unable to laugh heartily, snort instead.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

I'm similar to tsilver, but I usually think of someone trying to supress a hearty laugh and it comes out their nose instead!


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

....what a foul thread !  Yuk ! Ha !


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Oddly I feel closer to characters who snort.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Dara England said:


> Oddly I feel closer to characters who snort.


Well, if the book is _Animal Farm_, then it's OK for some characters to snort.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I always saw it as a sort of derisive snort.  More like a... I guess a more phlegmy huff.  But it's always been a sign of exasperation for me, not necessarily a character trait or a sign of their physical characteristics... just someone who is fed up.


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## tsilver (Aug 9, 2010)

I guess book characters tended to snort more in the old days.  I don't think I run into that word as often in more modern literature.


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

crebel said:


> I'm similar to tsilver, but I usually think of someone trying to supress a hearty laugh and it comes out their nose instead!


Yeah. That pretty much sums it up for me, too.
And because of that, I always like it when a character snorts.  I can't stand characters that have no sense of humor.


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## Linda Andrews (Aug 16, 2011)

I too find that characters snort much more in historicals (maybe all that snuff).  Whether it is an aborted laugh or a mark of derision is embedded in the context of the narrative.

Linda


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

crebel said:


> I'm similar to tsilver, but I usually think of someone trying to supress a hearty laugh and it comes out their nose instead!


Same here.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Either narcotics or Angry Birds


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

That the character is cynical & sarcastic like me, attempting to "say nothing if you can't say something nice?"


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## lisarusczyk (Jan 16, 2011)

I think of it as a chuckle that never made it out the person's mouth.


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## cork_dork_mom (Mar 24, 2011)

This is it exactly!! Sometimes ya gotta laugh and it comes out as a snort!!  

I love to laugh and when someone snorts, I laugh even more!



lisarusczyk said:


> I think of it as a chuckle that never made it out the person's mouth.


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## Patricia (Dec 30, 2008)

I came across that in a Jodi Picoult book a few years ago.  I can't remember which one.  I found it very distracting because she used it so much.  It's one of my pet peeves.


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I have read a few novels where the author used snort or another nasal derivative and usually it gets on my nerve.  It is over used.

I wouldnt want to be in the company of anyone who snorted, sucked their teeth, picked their nose or continually stuck their fingers in their ear for very long.  And would rather not read it much either.  I understand it can be part of the characters development, just dont over use it.


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## lisarusczyk (Jan 16, 2011)

KindleChickie said:


> I have read a few novels where the author used snort or another nasal derivative and usually it gets on my nerve. It is over used.
> 
> I wouldnt want to be in the company of anyone who snorted, sucked their teeth, picked their nose or continually stuck their fingers in their ear for very long. And would rather not read it much either. I understand it can be part of the characters development, just dont over use it.


I studied English in college and took a class on books from around the world. The best one was something like the Three and One Half Lotus, but I may have that name wrong.

In another book, the author described the main character using the bathroom, #2, in great detail. Gross!


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## JennSpot (Feb 13, 2009)

I am okay with characters snorting but I don't like sauntering or smirking!


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## Patricia (Dec 30, 2008)

JennSpot said:


> I am okay with characters snorting but I don't like sauntering or smirking!


I guess it must be the "s" words!


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## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

I think of that derisive sound that sounds almost like clearing your throat, only in the nasal passages. I know some people that make it a lot when they are amused at something. It's sort of a audible eye roll.


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## Sharon Red (Jul 23, 2011)

Geemont said:


> Well, if the book is _Animal Farm_, then it's OK for some characters to snort.


I second this haha


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## BRONZEAGE (Jun 25, 2011)

Dara England said:


> Oddly I feel closer to characters who snort.


Hah!

But the image it evokes for me is of a horse, especially if it is used in a Swords-and-Sandals novel. Very confusing. Am left wondering if the Roman officer snorted or the horse....


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## Pnjw (Apr 24, 2011)

KateEllison said:


> I think of that derisive sound that sounds almost like clearing your throat, only in the nasal passages. I know some people that make it a lot when they are amused at something. It's sort of a audible eye roll.


This. I like the audible eye roll description.


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## Spitzbub (Jul 4, 2011)

JennSpot said:


> I am okay with characters snorting but I don't like sauntering or smirking!


For me it's "padding" in place of walking. I'm OK with a snort here and a pad there, but if they're snorting all the time and padding everywhere, I get creeped out -- because soon they could be expostulating and ingesting and maybe even micturating!

John


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## Selina Fenech (Jul 20, 2011)

I don't mind characters snorting, I read it as a sarcastic laugh mostly but it depends on the context.
What I don't like is when characters say "ah". I don't know if they are sighing, realising something, gasping, or opening for a dentist.


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

KindleChickie said:


> I wouldn't want to be in the company of anyone who snorted, sucked their teeth, picked their nose or continually stuck their fingers in their ear for very long. And would rather not read it much either. I understand it can be part of the characters development, just don't over use it.


You would hate my brother...Ha.

Seriously, I think it's one of those words that has changed over time like gay. Once men could be gay and it purely meant happy and care free. Snorting was a word writers used to describe all manner of things like suppressed laughs etc. Now, as some people have said, it just reminds them of cocaine or snot.


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## bulrush (Aug 14, 2011)

I think of a person inhaling quickly through their nose. 
*snerk*
lol


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## GerrieFerrisFinger (Jun 1, 2011)

Spitzbub said:


> For me it's "padding" in place of walking. I'm OK with a snort here and a pad there, but if they're snorting all the time and padding everywhere, I get creeped out -- because soon they could be expostulating and ingesting and maybe even micturating!
> 
> John


With me anything goes as long as it's not overdone. One snort per book. Same with padding, smirking, chortling, gliding, flaming...


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## jsmclean (Mar 6, 2011)

BRONZEAGE said:


> But the image it evokes for me is of a horse....


Me too--I am not a fan of characters snorting, because I usually associate it with someone pompous (or someone who whinnies  and in that case it's perfectly okay).


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## ramsey_isler (Jul 11, 2011)

Haha. I love this topic! I recall the first time I read about a character "snorting", and the immediate image that came to mind was a pig snout. But over the years I've become comfortable with it as a derisive/dismissive nasal sound and it doesn't really bother me. It's a short way to say something that would otherwise require a lengthy description, but I don't use it in my own writing. I'll agree with others in this thread and say it's overused in modern writing.


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