tautness

Rare is the first book that reveals the writer fully formed, the muscles and sinews of her sentences firm and taut, the voice distinctly her own — think Imbolo Mbue’s “Behold the Dreamers” or Casey Cep’s “Furious Hours.”

Squat to grasp the ends of the towel on either side of you, then raise into a half-squat with good form until the towel is taut, keeping your arms straight and at your sides.

To create straight lines, the Nazca people would pull a cord taut between two stakes, then etch the paths by scraping away dark rock to reveal a lighter layer beneath.

Yet, for all of Rico’s over-the-topness, “Nightmare Vacation” ultimately feels taut and tight.

Braceway was amazed by the intensity of Bristow's glance, the tautness of his body, the harsh authority in his voice.

Dalgetty, poised in a nervous tautness that could explode into physical strength, felt a clutch of fear.

The stranger was a large schooner, and the tautness of the spars and rigging showed that she was in beautiful order.

She had the same appearance now as then, the same tautness of body, the same flat, constrained tone.

Their faces held a quiet tautness, and General Ohlmsted's hand, holding a cigar, was shaking a little.