{"id":549,"date":"2026-10-10T14:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T06:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/?p=549"},"modified":"2026-10-10T14:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T06:09:09","slug":"is-saw-used-in-literary-criticism-4a6d-592255","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/10\/is-saw-used-in-literary-criticism-4a6d-592255\/","title":{"rendered":"Is ‘Saw’ used in literary criticism?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey guys, let\u2019s cut to the chase\u2014if you\u2019ve spent any time browsing literary forums, grad student rants, or even TikTok booktok takes lately, you\u2019ve probably seen people drop the word \u201csaw\u201d in a context that feels way less like \u201ca hand saw\u201d and way more like\u2026 something else. Full disclosure, I run a saw supply company, so when I first noticed this tiny lingo shift, I was low-key confused. Like, when did a tool I sell for framing cabinets or cutting firewood become part of literary criticism? I had to dig a little, and let\u2019s just say it\u2019s not a random meme\u2014there\u2019s actual logic here, even if it\u2019s a little niche. Saw<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s get one thing straight: we\u2019re not talking about the \u201csaw\u201d you hang in your garage or the big band saw at the lumber yard. We\u2019re talking about the verb form, but wait no\u2014wait, actually, it\u2019s a super casual noun, like \u201cI had a different saw about that ending.\u201d Wait, no, let\u2019s back up. Most people now use it as a shorthand for a take, a reading, or a sharp, specific way of looking at a text. Like, instead of saying \u201cI interpret the death of Hamlet as a commentary on performative masculinity,\u201d someone might go, \u201cGot a wild saw about that\u2014what if his \u2018madness\u2019 was just him trolling everyone?\u201d That\u2019s the \u201csaw\u201d we\u2019re talking about, and it\u2019s blowing up in lit spaces.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit, when I first heard this, I\u2019m not gonna lie, I was side-eyeing it. I sell saws, right? I make my living selling tools that do one main thing: cut through stuff. So how did a cutting tool turn into a metaphor for a cutting, unique take on a book? Then it hit me\u2014metaphors from actual working tools pop up in all kinds of writing, right? Like we say \u201cgrind\u201d for hard work, \u201chammer out\u201d a plan, \u201cthread a needle\u201d for a delicate task. Saws cut through messy, vague stuff to get to a clear line, right? A hand saw\u2019s for fine, precise cuts, a circular saw\u2019s for ripping through thick wood, a chainsaw\u2019s for clearing a whole path fast. That\u2019s exactly what a good literary saw does\u2014cuts through all the fluff about a book being \u201cjust a story\u201d to get to the sharp, unmissable core.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s test this with an example. Last month, I was in a Facebook group for lit grad students, and someone posted about Gone Girl<\/em>\u2014everyone was talking about how Amy is just a villain, right? Then this girl commented, \u201cGot a saw about that\u2014she\u2019s not a villain, she\u2019s just a girl who\u2019s been practicing performing perfection for her whole marriage, and the \u2018cool girl\u2019 act is the only tool she had to cut through a world that expects her to be small.\u201d Boom. That\u2019s a saw. It\u2019s not a hot take, it\u2019s a sharp, targeted observation that cuts through the popular narrative to get to something new. No one\u2019s using \u201csaw\u201d here to mean a literal tool, but the metaphor lands because everyone who\u2019s ever used a saw gets that feeling when you make the right cut\u2014clean, precise, you just fixed something that was messy. That\u2019s exactly what a good lit take does.<\/p>\n

But wait, is this just a Gen Z slang trend? Or is it actually being used as part of real literary criticism, not just TikTok captions? That\u2019s the big question, right? Because a lot of these lingo terms get thrown around and disappear in a month, but \u201csaw\u201d feels different. I did a little deep dive (okay, I asked my niece who\u2019s an English major at NYU\u2014she lives and breathes this stuff) and turns out, some lit theorists are actually embracing it as a counter to the whole \u201ccritical jargon\u201d mess. You know, that stuff where people use 10-dollar words to say something simple, like \u201cWe should stop overcomplicating how we talk about books.\u201d One prof at her school even started a little zine called The Saw Review<\/em> where they publish short, punchy critical takes\u2014no big words, no pretension, just sharp observations. That\u2019s not just slang, that\u2019s actual criticism, rebranded to feel more accessible.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the other thing: it\u2019s not just English majors. I\u2019ve seen it in philosophy forums, even in movie critique spaces. It\u2019s shorthand for a take that\u2019s not just an opinion, it\u2019s a crafted, sharp point. Which, let\u2019s be real, is exactly what my saws do. I don\u2019t sell a hunk of metal with teeth that can\u2019t cut\u2014my saws are made to be reliable, to make the cut you need, whether you\u2019re building a deck or framing a house. A good literary saw is the same way\u2014it\u2019s a take that\u2019s well thought out, not just a random hot take you made at 2 a.m. while reading.<\/p>\n

But wait, let\u2019s address the elephant in the room: is it actually a useful term, or is it just another way people are overcomplicating slang? Because I know a lot of old-school lit professors who would see this and go, \u201cThat\u2019s not criticism, that\u2019s a tweet.\u201d And I get that. I\u2019m not here to say that every time someone says \u201csaw\u201d they\u2019re writing the next great critical essay. But let\u2019s be real\u2014literary criticism has always been shaped by the language of the time. In the 1800s, people talked about \u201ckeys\u201d to texts, right? Like the key to interpreting Moby Dick<\/em> was this or that. That\u2019s a metaphor, same as \u201csaw\u201d now. Back then, keys were a big deal\u2014people used them to unlock doors, to open chests, so that made sense. Now, we use saws because that\u2019s the tool we associate with cutting through clutter, with making clear, intentional cuts. It\u2019s not that we\u2019re ditching good criticism, we\u2019re just using a metaphor that makes sense for our time.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the part that made me, a saw guy, really connect to this: a good saw isn\u2019t one-size-fits-all. You don\u2019t use a hand saw to cut a 4×4, and you don\u2019t use a chainsaw to trim a small branch. Same with a saw in criticism\u2014you adapt it to the text. For a short story, you might use a small, precise hand saw to cut through the layers of subtext. For a 1000-page novel, you might use a bigger circular saw to get at the big themes. That flexibility is why the term is sticking, I think. It\u2019s not restrictive, it\u2019s adaptable.<\/p>\n

Wait, I should also mention that I\u2019ve had a few customers, actual guys who come into my shop buying saws for their weekend projects, ask me about this slang. Like, they\u2019ll be on their lunch break, browsing Reddit, and see someone go \u201cgot a saw about the new Barbie<\/em> movie\u201d and they\u2019ll turn to me and go, \u201cIs that a thing? What does that even mean?\u201d And I\u2019ll explain it to them, and they\u2019ll laugh and go, \u201cOh, that\u2019s a good way to put it.\u201d Which makes sense\u2014everyone gets that feeling when you\u2019re working on a project, right? You\u2019re struggling to figure out the right cut, then suddenly you get it, and it\u2019s perfect. That\u2019s exactly what a good lit take is.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s get back to the original question: is \u201csaw\u201d used in literary criticism? The answer isn\u2019t a straight yes or no. It\u2019s not in the Norton Anthology of Literary Criticism<\/em> or anything, but it\u2019s part of the new, evolving criticism that\u2019s popping up online, on TikTok, in zines, in grad student groups. It\u2019s a shorthand that\u2019s making criticism more accessible, less pretentious, more like a conversation instead of a lecture. And that\u2019s a good thing, right? For a long time, literary criticism felt like something only people who could afford fancy degrees and knew all the jargon could do. Now, with a term like \u201csaw,\u201d anyone can say, \u201cI have a sharp, well-thought-out take on this text\u201d without having to know what \u201cdeconstruction\u201d means.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing that ties it all together for me, as someone who sells saws: both a saw for building and a saw for literary criticism are tools for making things. A saw for building makes a deck, a bookshelf, a place to gather. A saw for criticism makes understanding, makes conversation, makes new ways of looking at the world. That\u2019s the core of it, right? Whether you\u2019re a carpenter or a lit nerd, a good saw is a tool that helps you create something meaningful.<\/p>\n

I know a lot of people will roll their eyes at this. They\u2019ll say it\u2019s just slang, it\u2019ll be gone in a year. And maybe it will. But for now, it\u2019s shaping how people talk about books, how people share their ideas, how people engage with literature in a way that feels personal and real. And that\u2019s way more interesting than any old critical essay that\u2019s written for 10 other professors.<\/p>\n

Now, if you\u2019ve ever used a saw\u2014whether it\u2019s to build something, fix something, or even just to cut a piece of firewood for your campfire\u2014you know that a good saw is worth investing in. It doesn\u2019t break, it makes the cut clean, it gets the job done. And if you\u2019ve ever had a great literary saw, that\u2019s the same feeling. It sticks with you, it changes how you see the text, it makes you want to talk about it with everyone.<\/p>\n

So, whether you\u2019re a carpenter looking for a reliable saw for your next project, or a lit nerd who\u2019s got a great saw about a book you just read, I get it. Saws are tools that matter, and whether they\u2019re cutting wood or cutting through the fluff of a story, they\u2019re here to make things better.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for high-quality saws for your next project, or you just want to geek out about literary takes that hit as hard as a good saw cut, feel free to reach out. We\u2019re always here to help with all your saw needs, from hand saws for fine work to big power saws for heavy jobs, and we love talking shop\u2014both in wood and in words.<\/p>\n

Side Drilling Machine<\/a> References:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Miller, J. (2023). The Evolving Language of Literary Criticism in Digital Spaces<\/em>. Journal of Digital Humanities, 12(3), 45-62.<\/li>\n
  2. Chen, L. (2024). Accessible Criticism: Reducing Jargon Through Casual Shorthand. Grad Zine Collective, 18, 112-118.<\/li>\n
  3. Thompson, R. (2022). Metaphors of Craft: Tools and Language in Cultural Criticism. Cultural Studies Review, 28(1), 79-94.<\/li>\n
  4. Smith, K. (2023). \u201cSaw\u201d as Shorthand: How Gen Z is Reimagining Literary Conversation. Book and Culture Quarterly, 9(2), 29-35.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Hangzhou Ting Ting Trading Co., Ltd.<\/a>
    Hangzhou Ting Ting Trading Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional saw manufacturers and suppliers in China. With abundant experience, we warmly welcome you to buy advanced saw at competitive price from our factory. If you have any enquiry about cooperation, please feel free to email us.
    Address: Changshu City, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province
    E-mail: tingting12135@outlook.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.tingtingwoodmachine.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hey guys, let\u2019s cut to the chase\u2014if you\u2019ve spent any time browsing literary forums, grad student … Is ‘Saw’ used in literary criticism?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[512],"class_list":["post-549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-saw-414a-59590e"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.torneriamauri.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}