proverbialとは 意味・読み方・使い方

発音

• (英国発音) IPA: /pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/

形容詞

proverbial (comparative more proverbial, superlative most proverbial)

1. Of, resembling, or expressed as a proverb, cliché, fable, or fairy tale.

   The busyness of a beaver is proverbial.

   The beaver in this instance upheld the reputation of the proverbial one: her output was prodigious.

   • 1947, Miracle on 34th Street (transcript):

     Doris: You're making me feel like the proverbial stepmother.

2. 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 smoking gun

   the proverbial spilled milk

   The visit was a warning shot across our proverbial bow

   • 2018 January 17, Deidre Walsh, quoting Mark Walker, “Republican Study Committee Chairman supports ‘crap sandwich’ funding bill”, in CNN‎:

     “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.

3. 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.

   • 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 January 2021:

     Mr. Obama has presented himself as a fresh face, unsteeped in Washington and the proverbial “politics as usual.”

使用する際の注意点

When placed before an element of a well-known proverb, proverbial is commonly inserted into sayings whose phraseology normally would remain fixed otherwise:

The visit was a warning shot across our proverbial bow

When used that way, proverbial typically can be put before any of the nouns within the proverb:

The visit was a proverbial warning shot across our bow

派生語

名詞

proverbial (plural proverbials)

1. (euphemistic) Used to replace a word that might be considered unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well-known phrase.

   I think we should be prepared in case the proverbial hits the fan.

   Are you taking the proverbial?

2. (euphemistic, in the plural) The groin or the testicles.

   You'll find they've got you by the proverbials.