Sir Roger Bannister

1 5.6

A British runner who in 1954 became the first to run a mile in under four minutes

proper noun

: Sir Roger Bannister

Everyone remembers Sir Roger Bannister as the first man to run a mile in under four minutes.

Examples

In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister became a household name thanks to his remarkable running feat.
Many regard Sir Roger Bannister's achievement as one of the greatest moments in sports history.
Sir Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier, inspiring generations of athletes.
Did Sir Roger Bannister really achieve that incredible feat in 1954?
Sir Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in under four minutes in 1954.
Sir Roger Bannister's groundbreaking achievement inspired countless runners around the world.
In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister made history by breaking the four-minute mile barrier.

Surface Forms

Sir Roger Bannister main

Morphology

Sir + Roger + Bannister

This is a personal name / named entity: knowing the constituents 'Sir' (a title) and the lexical forms 'Roger' and 'Bannister' does not allow a learner to infer the biographical fact that he was the first to run a sub-four-minute mile. The MWE's meaning depends on specific world knowledge rather than compositional semantics of its parts, so it is not predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Sir Roger Bannister is the English runner who in 1954 became the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes, the famous 'four-minute mile'. Imagine a clock dropping below four minutes as he crossed the line, like breaking an invisible barrier, so his name now stands for that daring athletic moment.