Oliver Twist

American  

noun

1. a novel (1838) by Dickens.

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Oliver Twist Cultural  

1. (1838) A novel by Charles Dickens; the title character is an orphan boy. In one famous scene, Oliver is severely punished for asking for more gruel, or porridge (“Please, sir, I want some more”). Oliver later becomes a pickpocket in a gang of young thieves led by Fagin. Violent in plot, the book exposes the inadequacies of British public institutions for dealing with the poverty of children like Oliver.

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Example Sentences

This ruling looks more like a reflection of the observation of Dickens’ Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist: “The law is a ass.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 11, 2025

When confronted with a bowl of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats or its ilk, all I could think of was Oliver Twist sadly begging for more.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 12, 2022

“Deep history on & in this site forever because Oliver Twist was born here.”

From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2021

If Imelda Marcos and Oliver Twist switched jobs, at least Oliver wouldn’t have had to go barefoot.

From Washington Post • Dec. 9, 2021

I was reading Oliver Twist, one of the assigned volumes for our summer reading list.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides