Despite the fact that the dictionary says…

Dropwise (adverb): one drop at a time

… and we will phrase it like this…

“With good stirring at -78 ºC under argon, a solution of n-butyl lithium in hexanes (2.5M, 37.5 mmol, 15 mL) was added dropwise over 20 mins.”

… this is what actually happened…

“Alright, the syringe is loaded and the needle inserted. Let’s first add a tiny amount of BuLi and see what happens. OK, no fire and no explosion. Cool, another couple of drops and ooops… over two mililiters in a single squirt. Rats. These damn dispoable syringes! Let’s take a quick step back here and pull down the shield, just in case. Hm… except from the dry ice going bananas beneath the acetone in the cooling bath, everything else seems fine. What the heck, just a little more and… *bing*… Aha, a new email! Oh, the latest results from the primary assay are in. Gotta check if my last compound made it. Where was I? Oh, the BuLi addition, right. Hm, when exactly did I start the addition? Five minutes ago? Err… let’s compensate a little here; some rapid addition over the next minutes should do it. Nice developing color by the way; a clear deep orange solution must mean we’re good. Back to the computer. Oh snap, my compound wasn’t tested yet. The reaction again. I’ve added more than half of the BuLi in what may have been around 12 minutes. It was pretty unevenful. The other guys are going on lunch now and I really wanna tag along. In goes the rest of the BuLi!”

…or am I the only one with a liberal view of the term “dropwise”?