Gradgrind
1
9.9
- proper noun
- /ˈɡrædˌɡraɪnd/
- Archaic
- At the end of Dickens's Hard Times, Mr. Gradgrind, the utilitarian, is forced into understanding that his system of education has produced nothing but misery for himself and his family.
- Mr. Gradgrind
Examples
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Dickens' Hard Times (1854) opens with one of the main characters, Mr. Gradgrind, saying "facts, facts, fill up their heads with facts."
Academic text (2015) -
In our classrooms, such teaching models as Mr. Chips, Mr. Gradgrind, Jean Brodie, the Clerk of Oxenford, or our favorite college or grad-school teacher hover over our pedagogy like ghosts.
Academic text (1998) -
The square wall connects Gradgrind metonymically with the business/industry, no-nonsense aspect of Coketown.
Academic text (2005) -
Some fictional names are filled with semantic clues about the nature of their owners: you know that someone called Gradgrind will not be an advocate of child-centered learning, and that Luke Skywalker will not stay long on Tatooine.
Blog text (29) -
At the very opening of the story, Mr. Gradgrind is described as having a "square wall of a forehead, which had his eyebrows for its base, while his eyes found commodious cellarage in two dark caves, overshadowed by the wall" (1).
Academic text (2005) -
In Dickens's Hard Times, Mr. Gradgrind represents a philosophy focused solely on practical facts, devoid of any imagination.
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Mr. Gradgrind's educational methods left no room for creativity, stressing that all students should only learn tangible facts.
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The character of Mr. Gradgrind in Hard Times illustrates how an obsession with strict practicality can lead to emotional disconnection.
Synonyms
2
8.6
A person who cares too much about small rules and corrects others often
1
8.9
A person who cares too much about small unimportant details in a hobby or project
Antonyms
How Imaginative
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gradgrind comes from Thomas Gradgrind, a character in Dickens' Hard Times whose name uses the familiar word grind meaning 'to press or crush' or 'to work something hard'. So a 'Gradgrind' is a person who cares only about facts and practicality and ignores imagination or feeling.