Pickwickian

[ pik-wik-ee-uh n ]

/ pɪkˈwɪk i ən /

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Mr. Pickwick, central character of The Pickwick Papers.

(of the use or interpretation of an expression) intentionally or unintentionally odd or unusual.

(of words or ideas) meant or understood in a sense different from the apparent or usual one.

Origin of Pickwickian

1830–40; Pickwick + -ian

Related formsPick·wick·i·an·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pickwickian

It is only within narrow limits, and then only in a Pickwickian sense, that honesty is the best policy.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
The very term Pickwickian Inns inspires rumination and imagination to a high degree.
Dickens' London|Francis Miltoun
Let that honourable Pickwickian who cried ‘No’ so loudly come forward and deny it, if he could.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 1(of 2)|Charles Dickens
There has always been a sort of fascination in tracing out and identifying the Pickwickian localities.
Pickwickian Manners and Customs|Percy Fitzgerald

Many things in this world are taken too personally and too seriously when intended as only Pickwickian.
Letters from an Old Railway Official|Charles DeLano Hine

British Dictionary definitions for pickwickian

Pickwickian

/ (pɪkˈwɪkɪən) /

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling Mr Pickwick in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, esp in being naive or benevolent

(of the use or meaning of a word, etc) odd or unusual

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012