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Glite Dictionary
Wilkins Micawber

Wilkins Micawber

9.9
A very hopeful person who always believes good things will happen even in hard times
  • proper noun
  • Literature
translation icon : Wilkins Micawber
  • Many people admired his Wilkins Micawber attitude, always believing that something would turn up.

Examples

  • Many readers admire Wilkins Micawber for his optimism.

  • Her resilience in tough times proved she had a true Wilkins Micawber spirit.

  • Even in the face of disaster, he remained a Wilkins Micawber, never losing hope.

  • In Wilkins Micawber, Dickens portrays a man full of hope.

  • Even in the face of disaster, he remained a Wilkins Micawber, never losing hope.

  • Her resilience in tough times proved she had a true Wilkins Micawber spirit.

  • Many people admired his Wilkins Micawber attitude, always believing that something would turn up.

Synonyms

Micawber
vsWilkins Micawber
  • Literature
1 9.9

A person who always expects good things to happen, even in bad situations

is a named fictional character who shows that same unwavering optimism

Surface Forms

Wilkins Micawber main

Morphology

Wilkins + Micawber

This is a proper name referring to a Dickens character; its meaning (an optimistic, hopeful person) depends on cultural and literary knowledge rather than the literal meanings of 'Wilkins' or 'Micawber'. Because the constituents are names (one is not a standard lexical item and the other is an eponym whose sense is learned from the story), a B1 learner who only knows the surface words would not be able to derive the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Wilkins Micawber comes from a character in Charles Dickens' 'David Copperfield' who always said 'something will turn up' even when he had no money or big problems. So calling someone a Wilkins Micawber means they are 'always hopeful' and expect things to get better.