Dictionary

fairy godparent en · NOUN

Etymology

By analogy with fairy godmother.

Meanings

1. Gender-neutral equivalent of fairy godmother.
   • Foremost in my mind is the breakout scene in 1960's "Cinderfella," his comic telling of the classic fairy tale in which a mistreated stepchild is granted his wish to go to the ball by a fairy godparent — in this iteration, a fairy godfather played magnificently by Ed Wynn. 2017 August 21, Randy Lewis, “Jerry Lewis often scored laughs with a major assist from his musical expertise”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Aug 2017:
   • “Ragged Dick” was good because it had jokes, villains, the eros of accumulation, the soft bed after the hard streets, the fairy godparent who arrives in the nick of time. 2022 April 5, Lydia Kiesling, “Rags-to-Riches Stories Are Actually Kind of Disturbing”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2022:
   • Tracking his movements in the wild, as he crashes karaoke parties and kickball games, has become an online pastime; Mr. Murray himself has become the folkloric equivalent of a leprechaun or fairy godparent, popping up at unpredictable yet opportune moments. 2012 November 28, Dave Itzkoff, “With Bill Murray, Just Take the Trip”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 Nov 2012:

Forms