lulu
1 Americannoun
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Slang. any remarkable or outstanding person or thing.
His black eye is a lulu.
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(initial capital letter) a female given name, form of Louise.
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of lulu1
First recorded in 1855–60; in slang sense, perhaps generic use of the proper name
Origin of lulu2
Special use of lulu 1, with play on lieu, from a facetious remark attributed to New York governor Al Smith
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That included another lulu, proud former Confederate officer, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar – a sop to Cleveland’s restive Southern Democratic supporters.
From Fox News • Sep. 21, 2020
The actual chairmen and chairwomen — all Republicans — earned larger stipends for other leadership positions; they are allowed only one stipend payment, commonly known as a lulu.
From New York Times • May 15, 2017
Behind closed doors everyone's going lulu but we rarely let anyone else know.
From The Guardian • May 11, 2013
According to New York Magazine's Vulture blog, Kaufman's been working on his next writing/directing project, "Frank or Francis," and it sounds like, as Myrna Loy might say in "The Thin Man," a lulu.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 3, 2011
I gave away a lulu of a Picasso story that had just reached me, one that I might have put aside for a rainy day.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
