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Zenith667 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

"tongue lolling wolfish" - adj or adv?

I came across a text that reads - I understand it to be grammatically correct - "tongue lolling wolfish from her mouth"

But wolfish is adjective, while wolfishly is the adverb.
Why is it "lolling wolfish" and not "lolling wolfishly"?

Thanks!
  

Top answer

You sometimes see non-standard things like this in literature, when the writer is trying for a certain effect or rhythm. "Lolling wolfishly" is the correct grammatical construction, but it's too textbookish and 7th grade essay-sounding for what he's trying to portray: a tongue that looks like a savage wolf's tongue.

— Anonymous

  • You sometimes see non-standard things like this in literature, when the writer is trying for a certain effect or rhythm.
  • "Lolling wolfishly" is the correct grammatical construction, but it's too textbookish and 7th grade essay-sounding for what he's trying to portray: a tongue that looks like a savage wolf's tongue.
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4 Answers
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You sometimes see non-standard things like this in literature, when the writer is trying for a certain effect or rhythm. "Lolling wolfishly" is the correct grammatical construction, but it's too textbookish and 7th grade essay-sounding for what he's trying to portray: a tongue that looks like a savage wolf's tongue.
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The text is from a SciFi horror novel - The Exorcist.
"Chris stifled a gasp. Her daugther's features were contorting into a malevolent mask: lips pulling tautly into opposite directions, tumefied tongue lolling wolfish from her mouth."

wolfish - like a wolf's (tongue).

It is a very graphic passage, and the image of the wolf's tongue is very vivid. The use of "wolfish" seems a
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Yeah, that's where I read it from Emotion: smile

wolfish = adjective
tautly, wolfishly = adverb

I wonder then, when or how I
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Zenith667I wonder then, when or how I can use constructs like this without making it look that I don't know English.
You can do that after becoming a famous novelist.
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