All 50 Uses of
minute
in
An American Tragedy
- And on her left cheek, just below her small rouged mouth, she had pasted a minute square of black court plaster in imitation of some picture beauty she had seen.
Chpt 1 (definition 1)minute = small
- She turned and kicked at the ice with the minute toe of her shoes, and Clyde, always taken by her charm again, put his arms about her, and crushed her to him, at the same time fumbling at her breasts and putting his lips to hers and endeavoring to hold and fondle her.
Chpt 1 (definition 1)
- …he wondered how these men could interest themselves in what were to him such dull and uninteresting items—the quality of the cloth that was coming down in the webs—some minute flaws in the matter of weight or weave…
Chpt 2 (definition 1)minute = little
- At the point of land favored by Roberta, into a minute protected bay with a small, curved, honey-colored beach, and safe from all prying eyes north or east.
Chpt 2 (definition 1) *minute = small
- And then Catchuman having handed over a retainer to Belknap as well as a letter introducing him to Clyde, Belknap had Jephson call up Mason to inform him that Belknap & Jephson, as counsel for Samuel Griffiths on behalf of his nephew, would require of him a detailed written report of all the charges as well as all the evidence thus far accumulated, the minutes of the autopsy and the report of the coroner's inquest.
Chpt 3 (definition 2)minutes = formal notes
- He had lost no time, as soon as he discovered there was a possibility of their (Belknap & Jephson) taking over the defense of Clyde, in going over the minutes of the coroner's inquest as well as the doctors' reports and the letters of Roberta and Sondra.
Chpt 3 (definition 2) *
Uses with a very common or rare meaning:
- "Come in here," she called to her husband, "I want to talk to you a minute.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- We'll be out in a minute."†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- Where was she now—at this minute?†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- But all his meals were to be taken outside his working hours and he was to report promptly in uniform for line-up and inspection by his superior exactly ten minutes before the regular hours of his work began at each watch.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- An' you gits ice-water in de hall we lined up in just a minute ago—at dat end over dere, see—you'll see a little door.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- Fannie will be in in a minute.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- Dinner'll soon be ready and Louise'll be here any minute."†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- I could show you in a few minutes after dinner if you wanted to.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- An' I saw him laughin' with Mr. Scott about two minutes later.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- It caused him, actually, to feel weak and dizzy, at times, cruelly seared in his veins with minute and wriggling threads of fire, and this could only be described as conscious lust, a torturesome and yet unescapable thing which yet in her case he was unable to prosecute beyond embracing and kissing, a form of reserve and respect in regard to her which she really resented in the very youths in whom she sought to inspire it.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- And the proof of it came toward the end of the second week of his arrangement with Hortense, when, with fifty dollars in his pocket, which he was planning to turn over to her on the following Sunday, his mother, looking into his bedroom where he was dressing, said: "I'd like to see you for a minute, Clyde, before you go out."†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- Wait a minute.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3) *
- And by the time they reached the car, to which they were all called a few minutes after by Hegglund, because of the time, and he had held her hand and kissed her often, he was quite convinced that the dream he had been dreaming was as certain of fulfillment as anything could be.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- Ordinarily, an additional eight minutes at high speed would have served to bring the car within a block or two of the hotel.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- But now, with another delay near Hannibal Bridge owing to grade crossing, it was twenty minutes to six before the bridge was crossed and Wyandotte Street reached.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- A full minute passed before he was signaled to go forward.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- A child had been killed; a car stolen and wrecked; his job was most certainly lost; the police were in pursuit and might even find them there at any minute.†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- You'll have de cops down on us in a minute as it is."†
Chpt 1 (definition 3)
- He had not been standing on the corner a minute before Ratterer appeared, very genial and friendly and dressed, if anything, more neatly than ever.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- "He just went through here a few minutes ago," went on Ratterer.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- After about twenty minutes of drifting and browsing, Dillard received some signal from Zella, and he and Clyde paused near the ice cream booth with its chairs in the center of the room.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- "Just a minute, Dolge," he called to some one outside.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- Then turning to the family, he added: "Excuse me, folks, I'll be back in a minute."†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- I can't stay a minute," came from Sondra and Bertine.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- Accordingly, about three in the afternoon of this same Monday, Clyde was sent for and after being made to wait for some fifteen minutes, as was Gilbert's method, he was admitted to the austere presence.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- I can let you out anywhere you want to get out—in ten minutes if you want to.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- "Wait a minute," pled Clyde.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- I could teach you in a few minutes if you wanted me to.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- She could scarcely endure it from minute to minute, let alone from hour to hour, and finally in an agony of dissatisfaction with herself at having brought all this on herself, she retired to the rest room at about three in the afternoon and there with the aid of a piece of paper found on the floor and a small bit of pencil which she had, she composed a brief note: "Please, Clyde, don't be mad at me, will you?†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- She could scarcely endure it from minute to minute, let alone from hour to hour, and finally in an agony of dissatisfaction with herself at having brought all this on herself, she retired to the rest room at about three in the afternoon and there with the aid of a piece of paper found on the floor and a small bit of pencil which she had, she composed a brief note: "Please, Clyde, don't be mad at me, will you?†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- If you want to wait a minute, you can ride out with me.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- They may stop in later for a minute.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- Wait a minute, Wyn.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- That means I can't go to Fonda with you, but will drop around to the room for a few minutes right after closing.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- But on opening it in the ladies' rest room a few minutes afterwards, her face fell.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- I think I saw his name in here a minute ago.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- And perhaps he would now make some last minute excuse for that, as he had for the previous Friday evening.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- "And to-day when I thought the dinner would begin at two," he continued to explain, "and end in time for me to be around here by eight like I said, it didn't start until three and only broke up a few minutes ago.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- They call me up at the last minute and want me to go.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- And a few minutes later, came directly to the corner adjoining the Alden farm, where an east and west road led to Biltz.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- It seems at times as though I could never be away from you another minute any more.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- But please write me, dear, right away, or if you won't do that call me up sure to-morrow, because I just can't rest one single minute until I do hear from you.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- And ten minutes after he had finished reading the last of these two letters, he was attempting to reach Roberta over the telephone.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
- And fifteen minutes later Clyde himself coming from a side street and approaching the station from the south, from which position Roberta could not see him but from where, after turning the west corner of the depot and stationing himself behind a pile of crates, he could see her.†
Chpt 2 (definition 3)
Definitions:
-
(1) (minute as in: minute size) small, exceptionally small, or insignificant
-
(2) (minutes as in: keep the minutes) a written record of what happened at a meeting
-
(3) (meaning too common or rare to warrant focus) Much more commonly, minute and minutes refer to a period of time lasting 60 seconds.
Less commonly, they refer to a measurement of angle where 60 minutes make up a single degree, and where a right angle has 90 degrees and a circle has 360 degrees.