What does "A counter-swirl" and "with a distinctness" mean? Please.. "A counter-swirl" had caught Farquhar and turned him half round; he was again looking into the forest on the bank opposite the fort. The sound of a clear, high voice in a monotonous singsong now rang out behind him and came across the water "with a distinctness" that pierced and subdued all other sounds, even the beating of the ripples in his ears. 1.What does "A counter-swirl" mean? Please.. 2What does "a distinctness" mean? Please..