Balzac’s description deftly characterizes Gosbeck, the main character in a short novel by that name.
See Also: BEAUTY
Unlike “Smooth as glass” or “Smooth as alabaster” which usually describe texture, this generally applies to something easily done. Other widely used variations to describe a glib, shrewd person are “Slick as an eel” and “Slick as grease.”
Still widely used … or as one might say “Popular and enduring as a John Ray proverb.”
Probably one of the most frequently used “Smooth as” comparisons, with ‘slick’ and ‘smooth’ often used interchangeably, as in “The frozen lake was slick as a mirror,” found in Mark Helprin’s short story, Ellis Island.
Though first used to describe complexion, the simile was expanded to broader use by O. Henry when he wrote “Everything goes smooth as silk.”
The shell comparison is used by poet Olds to describe the reddened, sun-swollen lips of the author’s daughter.
| Noun | 1. | smoothness - a texture without roughness; smooth to the touch; "admiring the slim smoothness of her thighs"; "some artists prefer the smoothness of a board" texture - the feel of a surface or a fabric; "the wall had a smooth texture" slick, slipperiness, slickness, slip - a slippery smoothness; "he could feel the slickness of the tiller" powderiness, fineness - having a very fine texture; "the fineness of the sand on the beach" raggedness, roughness - a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven |
| 2. | smoothness - powerful and effective language; "his eloquence attracted a large congregation"; "fluency in spoken and written English is essential"; "his oily smoothness concealed his guilt from the police" expressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper" | |
| 3. | smoothness - the quality of being bland and gracious or ingratiating in manner graciousness - excellence of manners or social conduct | |
| 4. | smoothness - the quality of having a level and even surface; "the water was a glassy smoothness"; "the weather system of the Pacific is determined by the uninterrupted smoothness of the ocean" invariability, evenness - a quality of uniformity and lack of variation | |
| 5. | smoothness - the quality of being free from errors or interruptions; "the five-speed manual gearbox is smoothness personified" effortlessness - the quality of requiring little effort; "such effortlessness is achieved only after hours of practice" |