Hanks of Hair and Gobbets of Flesh

Hanks of Hair and Gobbets of Flesh Hanks of Hair and Gobbets of Flesh Hanks of Hair and Gobbets of Flesh By Maeve Maddox I read this in a mystery novel: A trapped cat would fight its cage until it tore off hanks of its own skin. I can imagine that a cat might tear off strips or chunks or even hunks of skin, but not â€Å"hanks of skin.† The word hank refers to something long and flexible like hair or yarn: After selecting and measuring a new hank of hair I tie the end off tightly with very strong thread.  (Directions for rehairing a violin bow.) Many luxury yarns are  sold  in hanks, which must be wound into balls before you can knit with them. Heres a quick and easy way to handle a  hank of yarn. Gobbet conveys the idea of a lump or clod of something: She was spattered with blood, bits of cloth, and  gobbets of  smoking flesh.   Gobbets of  blubber spill to wind and weather. The bubbles throw off small  gobbets of  hot mud. Here are some words to convey a lump of something: blob chunk clod clot clump dollop glob gob hunk knob nub nugget wad Here are some words to convey the idea of something long and flexible, like a hank: coil skein length loop twist lock ringlet curl Bonus: One of my favorite lines of creepy verse is this one in a poem by Kipling: A fool there was and he made his prayer (Even as you or I!) To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair, (We called her the woman who did not care), But the fool he called her his lady fair- (Even as you or I!) The poem was inspired by a painting by Burne-Jones. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Computer Terms You Should KnowHow to Punctuate with â€Å"However†One "L" or Two?