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Literary notes about offbeat (AI summary)

The term "offbeat" is employed to evoke a sense of unconventionality and eccentric charm in literary writing. It often characterizes elements that deviate from the norm, whether referring to peculiar news items or unusual settings that catch the reader’s attention [1, 2]. Authors use it to highlight quirky humor and unorthodox perspectives, as seen when a character's humor is described as offbeat or a narrative takes an unusual turn by spotlighting peculiar relationships and heroes [3, 4, 5]. This adjective also finds its place in more technical or stylistic contexts, such as when it nuances the design of typefaces or marks the discovery of anomalies in a scene [6, 7]. Overall, "offbeat" enriches the language by celebrating the atypical and the innovative within literary works.
  1. Frank Daniels could bring together wire service news and offbeat items from technical publications and others.
    — from NetWorld! What People Are Really Doing on the Internet and What It Means to You by David H. Rothman
  2. A lively feature writer named Julie Ann Powers sought out offbeat places.
    — from NetWorld! What People Are Really Doing on the Internet and What It Means to You by David H. Rothman
  3. Many of Sturgeon’s other short stories and novelettes touch on extremely strange, offbeat relationships.
    — from Checklist A complete, cumulative Checklist of lesbian, variant and homosexual fiction, in English or available in English translation, with supplements of related material, for the use of collectors, students and librarians.
  4. "One day I asked them if they could give me an honorary membership," he chuckles, revealing his famous offbeat humor.
    — from 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Max Millard
  5. So I started bringing out the offbeat heroes.
    — from 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Max Millard
  6. Macintosh-style computers offer nifty graphics and nice offbeat typefaces.
    — from The Silicon Jungle by David H. Rothman
  7. Rick studied the scene, searching for anything offbeat, any anomaly.
    — from The Blue Ghost Mystery: A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin

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