Started playing around with
"The room was filled with the putrid smell of the acidic residues and liquefied flesh."
But I want it to read less clunky... with a bit more punch...
I am looking for a way for the "acidic residues and liquefied" to be as few syllables as possible...
Maybe I am too enamoured with "the putrid smell" and should redo the whole sentence altogether...
I might be painting myself into a corner...
just plain death, until major decomposition occurs, is actually a slightly sweet but garbage like smell. its called "morgue odor" and it clings. Investigators can recognize a dead body is around even if gone long after. At its faintest, it will pass for what you woulkd think was a damp musty odor until it goes off big. Just blood or open raw muscle tissue, has a weird odor. Open up a sausage casing raw, that's what it smells like. it doesn;t have to an acid to liquify flesh, that's a trope that hollywood taught laymen. Strong BASES do it just as well. Lye for instance. Its a strong base, not a strong acid. But it works just like an acid to bubble and liquify flesh. acid and base, as any gourmet cook can tell you. both have their own general signature tastes... and odors. What you call vinegar, is really just dilute acetic acid. Red wine vinegar in typical low percentage if splashed on skin and not rinsed off? Will leave a red skin mild chemical burn. Resembles sunburn. Thats like 5%. You don't want to know what near pure acetic acid does to flesh. you antagonist/protagonist can get high strength acid (nirtic, typically) for de-chroming tanks. Old cars with thick chrome you etch the old off with the strong acid tank, before you re-chrome with chemical electrolysis. Or, they could purify large quantities of vinegar to make dangerous acetic percentages.
the smell of an acid that had liquified flkesh and muscle tissue into goo... has a lot less smell. the acid is wearing out and getting used up to do it. the goo that was flesh and muscle isn't anymore, plus its in acid or base so it won't decay like you expect. you would report a "chemical" smell"
you *could* smell white vinegar to smell dilute acetic acid. most acids are reported to smell "bitter". You *could* even put some raw meat into acid or base (hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric are acids... lye (sodium hydroxide) is a base) to see what the smell was like. Battery acid electrolyte might not be strong enough. The stronger acids are hard to get ahold of without some legitimate purpose. strong lye powder used to be a thing.
I am looking for a way for the "acidic residues and liquefied" to be as few syllables as possible...
after the acid and the flesh had reacted, the resultant goo would be called "distillate"
for complete flesh goo-ing i'm assuming there would be a lower strength acid residue. Which, white vinegar would pass for as far as you deciding what to call it. the distillate itself would have littlew to no smell, and you would just pick up the odor of the leftover now diluted acid. hence, strongest white vinegar you can get. percentages are on the label.
The room was filled with the putrid smell of urine dripping onto the cold floor, tainting the delightful, exquisitely, almost raw, slightly acid-seared flesh in front of them, providing an unpleasant contrast to the delicious delicacy in front of them.
I thought the alliteration was a nice touch. go, purtrid purple prose power!
Rancid.
