Falstaff

[ fawl-staf, -stahf ]

noun

1. Sir John, the jovial, fat knight of brazen assurance and few scruples in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
2. (italics) an opera (1893) by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito based on the Shakespearean character.

Falstaff

1. An endearing, fat, aging rogue who appears in several of the plays of William Shakespeare . He is prominent in the two parts of King Henry the Fourth , where he is the jolly companion of Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. Falstaff is a lover of wine, women, and song; although a coward in practice, he loves to tell tales of his supposed bravery.

Example Sentences

Sher steals the show as Falstaff, of course, but there are also more serious, moments and plenty of food for thought.

From The Daily Beast

Orson Welles (1965) His Chimes at Midnight was a mash-up of the Shakespeare plays in which Sir John Falstaff appears.

From The Daily Beast

When Prince Hal tells Falstaff that “thou owest God a death,” he demurs.

From The Daily Beast

"He reminded me of Falstaff as a great misleader of youth," he said.

From The Daily Beast

What actor could play Falstaff after riding forty miles and being well thrashed?

From Project Gutenberg

At our challenge they have now taken to their heels like Falstaff's eleven rogues in buckram suits.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet the idea of Falstaff may be quite as vivid as the idea of Lafayette.

From Project Gutenberg

He made amends for his action by telling them of a country where gold, like Falstaff's reasons, was as plenty as blackberries.

From Project Gutenberg

In the state of innocency Adam fell; and what should poor Jack Falstaff do in the days of villainy?

From Project Gutenberg