Pithy, evocative imagery in three-legged microcosms of meaning. Having coined the term ‘triologism’ I believe this to be the only collection of these tum-tee-tum phrases in the universe. Updated Tuesdays … triologism day!
Life-giving elixir
These fine-minded sisters come into an inheritance adequate to free them from having to face the economic implications of remaining...
Wave-girt land
A little old-fashioned, this 'girt', but still an unexpected way to speak of an island, focusing more on its surrounding...
Raven-like croaks
Williamson's lovingly accurate study of otters includes many examples of the playfulness of these animals, be it with each other,...
The bounteous sea
In an age of over-fishing I like these two triologisms suggesting cornucopian fish stocks. Firstly, a reference to the brightness of...
Sun-hot boulder
You can see the lamb snuggling up against the warm stone radiator. And on these sultry days of August, many...
Thick-pelted richness
Lovely notion, a frog-hopping place, cosy and dense with goodness, not to mention harbouring secrets. See also this meadow's...
Far-tinkling haze
I am trying to imagine, visually and aurally, a far-tinkling haze. As a way to distance yourself from any kind...
Beam-borne planks
A poetic description of an ancient and abandoned bell tower; somehow 'beam-borne' implies flying rather than static, and I liked...
Easy-limbed stirring
I liked this description of a boat responding like a limber-limbed youth to the movement of the sea. 'Easy-limbed stirring'...
Time-dimmed benevolence
This makes me think of grainy photos of harmless-looking old men whom you then discover are former Nazi or other...
Battle wounds and war glory
One of the many striking things about the Iliad is its capacity to convey the warrior’s glory without shying away...
Brocade-trimmed orrery
The stereotype of the anally retentive chamberlain mechanically following a ritual timetable reminds me of Sourdust in Mervyn Peake's...
Sun-cured grasses
Somehow this evokes an image of a boundless prairie full of grazing bison. I learned from Lopez that the vast...
Sawyer-like strain
Having always associated 'sawyer' with Tom of the same name, it never occurred to me that, like many surnames, it...
Carpet-covered dias
Part of the infrastructure of a village fête celebrating the coming of age of the young squire, from where patronising...
Light-hearted crew
May your crew be ever light-hearted.
Source: Arthur Ransome, Coot Club (London: Jonathan Cape, 2009 (1934)), p. 290
...
Beware the plate-faced warrior
Something about this image that suggests implacable, closed, helmeted.
‘Then through that colonnade, Hector of Troy,
Towards his mass...
Ice-scraped gneiss
Adam Nicolson's 'love letter' to some small, remote, uninhabited Scottish islands inherited from his father, illuminates the depth and richness...
Good-humoured Syrinx
These two fine young girls manage to protect themselves from the depredations of a sleazy, tasteless monster. I remember Leigh...
Grape-gorged carronade
A vivid evocation of boyhood heroic fantasies. When the young boy is told off or otherwise put down by the grown...
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Interesting! Your triologisms remind me of the two-word kennings in Beowulf.