proverbial

From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb +‎ -ial

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

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. Not used in a literal sense, but as the subject of a well-known metaphor.

   the proverbial smoking gun

   proverbial spilled milk

   The visit was a warning shot across our proverbial bows

   • 2018 January 17, Deidre Walsh, quoting Mark Walker, “Republican Study Committee Chairman supports ‘crap sandwich’ funding bill”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     “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^[2], 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.”

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.

Borrowed from Latin prōverbiālis.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pɾu.βər.biˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pɾo.vər.biˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pɾo.veɾ.biˈal]

proverbial m or f (masculine and feminine plural proverbials)

1. proverbial

• proverbi

• “proverbial”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

proverbial (feminine proverbiale, masculine plural proverbiaux, feminine plural proverbiales)

1. proverbial

• “proverbial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Borrowed from French proverbial.

proverbial m or n (feminine singular proverbială, masculine plural proverbiali, feminine and neuter plural proverbiale)

1. proverbial

From Latin prōverbiālis. Equivalent to proverbio +‎ -al

• IPA^(key): /pɾobeɾˈbjal/ [pɾo.β̞eɾˈβ̞jal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: pro‧ver‧bial

proverbial m or f (masculine and feminine plural proverbiales)

1. proverbial

• “proverbial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024