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Glite Dictionary
Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen

Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen

9.9
A German nobleman who told made-up stories about his adventures
  • proper noun
translation icon : Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen
  • The novel's protagonist was likened to Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen for the absurdity of his adventures.

Examples

  • Many consider the tales of Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen to be the epitome of imaginative storytelling.

  • Historians debate how much of Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen's stories were based on real events.

  • Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen is a fascinating figure.

  • The tales of Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen are legendary.

  • Many consider the tales of Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen to be the epitome of imaginative storytelling.

  • Historians debate how much of Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen's stories were based on real events.

  • The novel's protagonist was likened to Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen for the absurdity of his adventures.

Synonyms

Baron Munchausen
vsKarl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen
  • Literature
9.3

A person who tells adventure stories that are clearly not true

is the general historical label for extravagant adventure stories without the formal title
Munchhausen
vsKarl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen
  • Literature
9.9

A person who tells very exaggerated, unbelievable stories about their adventures

is the standard biographical form rather than the alternate spelling

Surface Forms

Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen main

Morphology

Karl + Friedrich + Hieronymus + von + Münchhausen

This is a proper name; the association of Baron Münchhausen with exaggerated tales is encyclopedic and cannot be inferred from the constituent given names or the nobiliary particle 'von'. Even a learner who knows the words would not derive the cultural/historical meaning (a teller of tall tales) from the name alone, so the expression is opaque to B1 learners.

Etymology

Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen was a real German nobleman from the 1700s who told wild, impossible tales of his adventures—one famous story says he pulled himself out of a swamp by his own hair. Because of these exaggerated tales, his name now stands for any 'tall story' or person who tells 'unbelievable lies'.