GR translation: that dovetails inside you sharp as knives

[Mike Jing]

I do know what a dovetail joint is. The OED definition for the verb:

1. transitive. To fit together or join by means of dovetails, or by a
similar method. Const. in, into, to.
2. figurative. To unite compactly as if by dovetails; to adjust exactly, so
as to form a continuous whole.
3. intransitive. To fit into each other, so as to form a compact and
harmonious whole or company.

I might be overthinking, but none of them seems to quite fit here, so I'm
wondering what was meant exactly.


On Thu, Dec 4, 2025 at 6:07 AM Mike Weaver <mike.weaver at zen.co.uk> wrote:

> Woodwork - dovetail joint.
>
> On 03/12/2025 20:20, Mike Jing wrote:
> > V676.37-677.1, P690.3-8   Which is why Slothrop now observes his
> coalition
> > with hopes for success and hopes for disaster about equally high (and no,
> > that doesn’t cancel out to apathy—it makes a loud dissonance that
> dovetails
> > inside you sharp as knives). It does annoy him that he can be so divided,
> > so perfectly unable to come down on one side or another.
> >
> > What does "dovetail" mean here?
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>