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Can't think of a word

LizyLizy
edited April 2016 in Writing
Her appearance drew a few admiring glances from the neighbouring camp fires, but Lisa was only aware – uncomfortably so – of Jake’s obsessive stare. She felt his eyes on her legs now and got up quickly, moving away towards the washrooms

'obsessive stare' doesn't work but I can't think of what would!
Jake is more than a creep - he's a pathetic sex offender who will eventually turn nastier - but Lisa has to put up with him. What words can I use to add menace to these sentences?

Comments

  • Baggy BooksBaggy Books
    Penetrating. Works with the sex offender tag.
  • Tiny NellTiny Nell
    Fixed
    Unwavering
    Focus
    Inspection
    Scrutiny
    Study
    Ogle
    Leer
  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    Gawp...love that word.
  • Tiny NellTiny Nell
    :-O
  • Baggy BooksBaggy Books
    Hmm. But gawping is what immature adolescents might do...
  • LizLiz
    Lingering

    obtrusive

    creepy
  • LizLiz
    unsettling
  • LizLiz
    perturbing, discomposing
  • LizLiz
    lascivious
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    insidious stare
    sly watchfulness
    fixation
    I'd change 'She felt his eyes on her legs', by the way - it's a physical impossibility.
  • CarolCarol
    Salacious.
  • LizyLizy
    edited April 2016
    Thank you all for your input.

    Mrs B - it's quite possible to feel someone looking at you, but I'll consider that sentence again. I like 'sly watchfulness' and might use that later.

    At this stage in my story I think Liz's 'unsettlng' fits the bill best - Lisa doesn't know Jake's history yet, and I want his fixation - another good work, thank you - to build up slowly.

    All the other words are now logged in my notes for future reference - thanks again, all. XX
  • BillBill
    a carnal gaze/ lingering carnal gaze
  • Baggy BooksBaggy Books

    It's quite possible to feel someone looking at you.
    Definitely. How many times have we experienced it? We sense/feel these things, look up and there they are...

    :-B

  • happy_authorhappy_author
    edited April 2016
    ;-)
  • datco2014datco2014
    He rolled his eyes at her so she picked them up and rolled them back to him.
  • snailmalesnailmale
    I will go along with Liz on this one, lascivious.

    Not like you to be short of a word, Lizy ;))
  • LizyLizy
    True, oh snail, but on this occasion I needed to 'phone a friend'. That's what the forum's for, after all - isn't it?

    Answers on a post card, please.
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    Dear Lizy,
    We are having a lovely time at the Roman-themed holiday resort. Mr Bear has taken to wearing a centurion's helmet hat with his ears poking through, which is rather fetching. The white sun screen on his snout makes him look a little odd though.
    We hope to go to the woods later, as Mr Bear has had a small problem with his digestion, after eating too much Ancient Roman fish sauce with his chips.
    Hope this card arrives home before we do.
    Love,
    Mr and Mrs Bear
  • LizyLizy
    :D
  • BetsieBetsie
    lecherous predatory lascivious dissolute rakish
  • LizyLizy
    Another question: which is better?

    she weaved her way between the other camp fires

    or

    she wove her way between the other camp fires

    or something else entirely?
  • BetsieBetsie
    weaved sounds the right one to me.

    I put the words "weaved or wove" into Google and up popped a long spiel explaining that there are two different verbs involved i.e. weave and wove which has connotations of cloth weaving so I think weaved gives better meaning for the context you intend.
  • CarolCarol
    I'd used weaved, but it's another of those tricky ones.

    But I'm sure Mrs Bear will confirm the correct word and use. :)
  • Tiny NellTiny Nell
    My vote is for 'weaved'.
  • LizyLizy
    That's what I wrote to start with, but you know how it is - the longer you ponder a word the odder it sounds!
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    The only past tense given in the OED for weave is wove, in relation to textiles.
    Cambridge dictionary gives weaved as US English in this context.

    Cambridge allows weaved as you have used it. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/weave#british-1-1-2 (see under Thesaurus)

    The two meanings (the textile one, and the dodging one) have different historical roots, so that may explain the wove/weaved conundrum.

  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    Fowler's agrees with Cambridge, Lizy, and with the historical reasoning.
  • LizyLizy
    I tried 'wove' as 'weaved' just sounded wrong, and in the end I opted to change it completely to 'she threaded her way through'.
    Thank you so much for your input.

    Maybe others will use this thread for their own queries - unless I'm the only one who gets stuck for a word!
  • LizLiz
    No- but I have a Roget's Thesaurus (as well as Fowlers and Strunk and White) so rarely suffer too long.
  • LizyLizy
    I have two thesauri but the print is very small.

    :-B
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    My Roget's thesaurus dates from about 1982. I looked on Amazon for a newer one but it seems they don't update them very often.
  • Tiny NellTiny Nell
    I mostly use the online one now.
  • CarolCarol
    My Roget's is 1998. But I do have another small one that's modern.

    I have a number of dictionaries from very old to new.
  • heatherheather
    As I usually have a Word document open, I tend to type the word in and use that thesaurus as it's quicker than leafing through a book. But Roget tends to be better for fancier stuff, I think.
  • LizyLizy
    Mine are dated 1964, which I thought was fairly modern till I did the maths, and I have a larger newer one updated by George Davidson in 2004.

    I shall have to look at the online one - I am a bit of a dinosaur where books are concerned!
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