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Pickwickian: msg#00006culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica. http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for November 7 is: Pickwickian \pick-WICK-ee-un\ adjective 1 : marked by simplicity and generosity *2 : intended or taken in a sense other than the obvious or literal one Example sentence: "It was tough, but I survived" was Carl's Pickwickian response when I asked him about his weekend "boat-sitting" a 50- foot luxury yacht. Did you know? The term "Pickwickian" comes from Samuel Pickwick, the name of a simple and benevolent character in Charles Dickens' novel _The Pickwick Papers_. Early in the novel, Mr. Pickwick accuses another character, Mr. Blotton, of behaving in "a vile and calumnious mode," and in return is called "a humbug." Only later is the reader made aware that all was said in jest, and that the two men are actually the best of friends. Such literary tricks have led to the use of "Pickwickian" to describe uses of language that are similarly not meant to be taken at face value. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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