Today we’ll be talking about fictional characters that are used in everyday language to describe people who share with them some features.
If you feel like watching the video version first, here it is:
Now let’s have a look at some examples of such fictional characters. I’m going to throw in a word about the origin of each character and explain how it’s used in everyday language. If you know the original characters, their meaning may be quite intuitive to you. You may guess that if someone calls someone James Bond, the latter is not a small and weak person by any means, rather the contrary.
And now the examples:
Table of Contents
Peter Pan
origin of the character:
a boy in Sir James Barrie’s play Peter Pan who lives without growing older
meaning in everyday language:
an adult who does not want to grow up and behaves like a child or teenager
James Bond
origin of the character:
a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming
meaning in everyday language:
a brave person who’s not afraid of taking risks
Billy Bunter
origin of the character:
a fictional schoolboy created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards, characterized by greediness and dramatically overweight appearance
meaning in everyday language:
a fat, obese person who loves eating
Robinson Crusoe
origin of the character:
a shipwrecked sailor in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe who lives for many years on a desert island
meaning in everyday language:
usually used in the expression: Robinson Crusoe existence, meaning simple, basic existence
man Friday
origin of the character:
Friday, Robinson Crusoe’s servant in the novel by Daniel Defoe
meaning in everyday language:
an efficient and devoted aide or employee, a right-hand man
Scrooge
origin of the character:
Ebenezer Scrooge, a character in the story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
meaning in everyday language:
a miserly person, reluctant to spend money
Robin Hood
origin of the character:
a legendary English outlaw who stole from the rich and gave to the poor
meaning in everyday language:
a criminal with good intentions
Walter Mitty
origin of the character:
a daydreaming hero of a story by James Thurber
meaning in everyday language:
a person who seeks escape from reality through daydreaming and fantasizing about his adventures
Rip Van Winkle
origin of the character:
a character in a story in Washington Irving’s Sketch Book who sleeps for 20 years
meaning in everyday language:
a person who loves to sleep
