Pickwickian
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of Mr. Pickwick, central character of The Pickwick Papers.
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(of the use or interpretation of an expression) intentionally or unintentionally odd or unusual.
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(of words or ideas) meant or understood in a sense different from the apparent or usual one.
adjective
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of, relating to, or resembling Mr Pickwick in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers , esp in being naive or benevolent
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(of the use or meaning of a word, etc) odd or unusual
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Pickwickian
1830–40; Pickwick + -ian
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.
She also gave them two famous New Yorker profiles by Joseph Mitchell: “the delightful, Pickwickian 1942 story ‘Professor Sea Gull,’ and the much longer and much darker, Poe-like 1964 tale ‘Joe Gould’s Secret.’
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2016
His framing device seems initially an excuse for stringing together a parade of entertaining anecdotes: A mysterious Mr. Inbelicate hires someone dubbed Inscriptino to produce a manuscript based on decades of Pickwickian research.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 22, 2015
With a literary flourish, they named the condition Pickwickian syndrome after a character who falls asleep standing up in Charles Dickens’s first novel, The Pickwick Papers.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2012
But he had that funny Pickwickian name, and he knew it.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2012
Nobody expects the American traveller to admire the refreshments at Mugby Junction; but he might admire the refreshment at one of the Pickwickian inns, especially if it contained Pickwick.
From What I Saw in America by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
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