Dictionary

Wodehousian en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /wʊdˈhaʊzi.ən/
• /wʊdˈhaʊsi.ən/

Etymology

From Wodehouse + -ian.

Meanings

1. Of or pertaining to P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975), English writer and humorist known for his eccentric half-witted characters and excellent prose.
   • On the coach the next morning, James shows a Wodehousian ability to find alternatives to the verb “to go”: “Let’s slowly trickle along”, “I think we could race back now”, “We might just wander up for a look”. 2013 July 25, Elfreda Pownall, “Italian gardens: a spectacular visit to the Roman Campagna”, in Daily Telegraph:
   • Traipsing through this farce is the most Wodehousian character of all, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, a 54-year-old dishevelled blond toff with a talent for leaping into action precisely when his country needs him least. 2018 July 13, Tom Rachman, “A fresh disaster: How Brexit is diverting Britain”, in The Globe and Mail:
   • The Wodehousian way is the ability to effortlessly expand characters, trivialities and plots and exaggerate the mundane to great comic or catastrophic effect. 2015 August 4, Delshad Irani, “Jeeves@100: Here's how PG Wodehouse influences Indian copy writing”, in Economic Times:
   • Wigs on the Green, originally published in 1935, is Nancy Mitford's third novel. Like its predecessors, it is a light, accomplished comedy of manners, complete with Wodehousian conventions of a rich heiress, rivals in love, legacies from an aunt, broken engagements, assumed identities and a happy ending. 2010, Charlotte Mosley, “Introduction”, in Wigs on the Green, →ISBN:
   • Wodehousian farce, like all other kinds of farce — like most comedy, for that matter — nurses a deep suspicion that the ability to reason is an overrated gift, and what counts in farce is not originality of meaning but freshness of image. 1998, Edward L. Galligan, The Truth of Uncertainty, University of Missouri Press, →ISBN, page 163:
   • Translating a Cornish village during the Napoleonic wars to a vaguely Wodehousian 1920s ambience provides a bit of incidental fun […] 2010 February 1, Rupert Christiansen, “Opera North's Ruddigore, review”, in Daily Telegraph:

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