artful dodger
1
8.5
- noun
- /ˈɑrtfəl ˈdɑdʒər/
:
esquivador astuto
- She managed to get out of work by acting like an artful dodger whenever responsibilities came up.
Examples
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Among his friends, Tom was known as the artful dodger of chores and responsibilities.
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She called him an artful dodger for slipping away when work was assigned.
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The artful dodger always managed to escape the manager’s attention during cleanup duty.
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He's such an artful dodger when it comes to paying bills.
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The artful dodger managed to escape the consequences of his actions.
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The politician was considered an artful dodger for avoiding questions about his controversial decisions.
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Known as an artful dodger, he would skillfully shift blame away from himself during team projects.
Synonyms
20
7.9
A person who avoids duties and rules by lying or tricking others
1
8.0
A person who avoids work or responsibility, often by making excuses
1
5.5
A person who avoids something by clever indirect actions
A person who avoids work or duties by making excuses
How Deceptive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is transparently compositional: 'artful' (clever, often deceptive) modifies 'dodger' (someone who avoids duties), yielding a person who cleverly avoids responsibility. A B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer this sense (the Dickensian name reference does not affect its compositional transparency).
Etymology
Artful dodger comes from a clever young thief in Charles Dickens's story 'Oliver Twist' who was very good at slipping away from police and trouble. The word artful means skillful and dodger is someone who 'dodges', so calling someone an artful dodger today means they are good at avoiding chores, blame, or responsibilities.