Popeye
A tattooed, corncob pipe-smoking comic strip character created in the early twentieth century. Popeye the Sailorman is constantly called upon to save his girlfriend, Olive Oyl, from the schemes of the villainous Bluto. To gain the necessary strength, Popeye consumes a can of spinach.
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Note
Though said to have been inspired by the marketing division of a spinach manufacturer, Popeye has proved enduringly popular, spawning adaptations for the radio, animated cartoons, and a motion picture.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Examples from the Web for popeye
Contemporary Examples
On Escobar's order, Popeye took Mendoza hostage in the warden's house while Escobar tried to figure his way out of the bind.
The Popeye meme is yet another gambit—another tactic pulled from the bag of Jedi mind tricks: I am a man of conviction.
This Popeye's signature meal became synonymous with Season 2's resident "big girl."