All 3 Uses of
poise
in
A Prayer for Owen Meany
- The face that stared intently into mine was not a bird's face, and no cage prevented this creature from leaping out at me—and the creature appeared not only poised to leap out at me, but eager to do so.†
p. 50.5
- When Owen caught her eye, she appeared to lose her confidence and her poise; the look he gave her was both challenging and lascivious.†
p. 220.0 *
- But over this unholy, unstudious, unsuitable ground the stone Mary Magdalene stood her guard; under her odd, cement archway, she at times appeared to be tending to an elaborate but crudely homemade barbecue; at other times, she seemed to be a goalie—poised in the goal.†
p. 275.4
Definitions:
-
(1)
(poise) calm, confident, and in control—especially in movement, behavior, or when ready to act
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, poise is a technical word referencing a unit of dynamic viscosity.