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Pickwickian: msg#00006

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: Pickwickian

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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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