Horatio Alger

4 8.6

A story about a poor young person who becomes successful by working hard and behaving well

proper noun
/həˈreɪʃoʊ ˈælɡər/

: Horatio Alger

His novels often portray the classic Horatio Alger narrative of overcoming obstacles to achieve the American Dream.

Examples

Many young Americans grew up reading Horatio Alger novels, which inspired them to believe in the value of hard work.
Critics sometimes dismiss such upward mobility stories as mere Horatio Alger myths.
His story is a real-life Horatio Alger tale, rising from poverty to great success.
Many young readers adore Horatio Alger's stories.
Did you ever read a book by Horatio Alger?
Many people find inspiration in Horatio Alger's stories about young boys who achieve success through hard work.
The documentary explored how Horatio Alger's themes of perseverance and success still resonate with readers today.

Synonyms

Alger

vsHoratio Alger

4 8.8

An American writer of stories about boys who succeed through hard work and good behaviour

has identical meaning but lists the full name with birth and death years

Surface Forms

Horatio Alger main

Morphology

Horatio + Alger

This is a proper name/eponym referring to a specific 19th-century author and a literary trope (rags-to-riches stories), so its meaning depends on cultural and biographical knowledge rather than the literal meanings of the parts. Knowing the constituent words 'Horatio' and 'Alger' (both names) does not allow a B1 learner to derive the author's identity or the associated literary meaning, making it non-compositional.

Etymology

Horatio Alger comes from a writer long ago who told many 'rags-to-riches' stories about poor boys who worked hard and became successful. So, calling a story a Horatio Alger tale means a simple belief that 'hard work leads to success' or that someone can rise from poverty by their own effort.