Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of the nature of a proverb.
- adjective Expressed in a proverb.
- adjective Widely referred to, as if the subject of a proverb; famous.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Pertaining to proverbs; resembling or characteristic of a proverb: as, to express one's self with proverbial brevity.
- Mentioned in a proverb; used or current as a proverb: as, a proverbial saying; hence, commonly spoken of; well-known; notorious.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Mentioned or comprised in a proverb; used as a proverb; hence, commonly known
- adjective Of or pertaining to proverbs; resembling a proverb.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of, resembling, or expressed as a
proverb ,cliché ,fable , orfairy tale . - adjective Widely
known ;famous ;stereotypical . - noun euphemistic Used to replace a word that might be considered
unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well known phrase. - noun euphemistic The
groin or thetesticles .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective widely known and spoken of
- adjective of or relating to or resembling or expressed in a proverb
Etymologies
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Examples
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I cannot help but wonder if Erikson has it all figured out, or he wanders in proverbial dark a bit himself.
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I cannot help but wonder if Erikson has it all figured out, or he wanders in proverbial dark a bit himself.
Archive 2008-01-01 2008
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This is often described as the proverbial Dark Night of the Soul.
Before We Can Rise Up, We Must Go Down and Through William Harryman 2007
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An interesting article, "Proverbs and prejudice: El Indio in Hispanic proverbial speech" by Shirley L. Arora De Proverbio, Vol. 1, no.
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Here he administered for the first time the Sacrament of Penance; here he preached from the pulpit of his panegyrist his first sermon; here he entered upon "that career of zeal and usefulness which made his name proverbial in every family of the parish." ...
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Captain Forsyth, Settlement Officer of Nimar, had a very unfavourable opinion of the Bhilalas, whom he described as proverbial for dishonesty in agricultural engagements and worse drunkards than any of the indigenous tribes.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell
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Xanthippe, by whom he had three sons; but her bad temper has rendered her name proverbial for a conjugal scold.
A Smaller history of Greece From the earliest times to the Roman conquest William Smith 1853
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The memory of Coeur de Lion, of the lion-hearted prince, was long dear and glorious to his English subjects; and, at the distance of sixty years, it was celebrated in proverbial sayings by the grandsons of the Turks and Saracens, against whom he had fought: his tremendous name was employed by the Syrian mothers to silence their infants; and if a horse suddenly started from the way, his rider was wont to exclaim, “Dost thou think King Richard is in that bush?”
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206
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Why did it take so long before the stock exchange finally had the courage to call the proverbial spade a spade?
The Financial Industry Continues to Ignore the Need for Reliable Answers Roland Schatz 2011
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I felt relief because the film had rather skillfully named the proverbial elephant (s) in the room, raising issues that many educators find extraordinarily uncomfortable to talk about.
Lisa Petrides: 'Superman' Puts Spotlight on Education Lisa Petrides 2010
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