proverbial en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/ (UK)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb + -ial
Meanings
-
Of, resembling, or expressed as a proverb, cliché, fable, or fairy tale.
Doris: You're making me feel like the proverbial stepmother.
1947, Miracle on 34th Street (transcript)The beaver in this instance upheld the reputation of the proverbial one: her output was prodigious.
The busyness of a beaver is proverbial.
-
Optionally placed before an element of a well-known proverb or metaphor to emphasize that the element is not being used in a literal sense (see Usage notes below)
the proverbial spilled milk
“We don’t like it, it’s the proverbial ‘crap sandwich’ that they talk about but what’s the best move from here and we think it’s the way to go,” said Rep. Mark Walker, chairman of the large group of fiscal conservatives known as the Republican Study Committee. […] “I think there is a growing consensus, whether it’s February or sometime, that we don’t want to be on this proverbial hamster wheel,” he said.
2018 January 17, Deidre Walsh, quoting Mark Walker, “Republican Study Committee Chairman supports ‘crap sandwich’ funding bill”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2018:the proverbial smoking gun
The visit was a warning shot across our proverbial bow
-
Widely known; famous; stereotypical.
I grew up in a prefab house on Main Street in 1950s suburbia, the second and last child of a proverbial nuclear family.
Mr. Obama has presented himself as a fresh face, unsteeped in Washington and the proverbial “politics as usual.”
2007 May 17, Mark Leibovich, “For ’08 Résumés, Don’t Ask Them to Fill in Blanks”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2021:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most proverbial | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more proverbial | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
proverbiality · proverbialism · proverbialize · the proverbial dog that caught the car · proverbialness · unproverbial · up the proverbial · proverbialist · proverbialise · proverbially
Translations (35)
bg пословичен (of a proverb) · la prōverbiālis (of a proverb) · eo proverba (widely known; famous) · bg общоизвестен (widely known; famous) · de sprichwörtlich (widely known; famous) · ru посло́вичный (of a proverb) · es proverbial (of a proverb) · be пры́казкавы (of a proverb) · ru общеизве́стный (widely known; famous) · cs příslovečný (of a proverb) · fr proverbial (widely known; famous) · el παροιμιώδης (widely known; famous) · it proverbiale (widely known; famous) · it proverbiale (of a proverb) · uk провербіа́льний (of a proverb) · el παροιμιακός (of a proverb) · eo proverba (of a proverb) · pt proverbial (of a proverb) · be агу́льнавядо́мы (widely known; famous) · be праславу́ты (widely known; famous) · ru преслову́тый (widely known; famous) · de sprichwörtlich (of a proverb) · de proverbial (of a proverb) · ru провербиа́льный (of a proverb) · fi sananlaskumainen (of a proverb) · fi tunnettu (widely known; famous) · fi kuuluisa (widely known; famous) · es proverbial (widely known; famous) · fr proverbial (of a proverb) · pt proverbial (widely known; famous) · cy diarhebol (of a proverb) · da almenkendt (widely known; famous) · ru провербиа́льный (widely known; famous) · sv allmänt känd (widely known; famous) · fi maankuulu (widely known; famous)