From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Eponyms derived from fictionIn this week’s A.Word.A.Day I asked our readers what fictional character they would like to turn into an eponym. Here’s a selection from the responses.
My candidate for eponym is (Kenneth) Widmerpool, the main character in
Anthony Powell’s 3,000-page, 12-novel cycle, A Dance to the Music of
Time. He is a spectacularly, wonderfully, exuberantly loathsome character
who reinvents himself so many times, so many ways, that it staggers the
imagination. Nobody much likes him, with good reason, but by sheer force of
will, he achieves great success -- for a while. I once had a Solomon Islands
eclectus parrot baby I named Widmerpool, but he escaped the house. So,
a Widmerpool would be a laughable, ridiculous figure who surprises you. A
little, but only a little, like Trump.
-Ben Silverman, Playas de Rosarito, Mexico (bajabensilverman gmail.com)
Spock: Logical, not emotional.
After Mr. Spock of Star Trek.
-Oberon Zell, Asheville, North Carolina (oberon mcn.org)
Tom Parsons: Someone who consistently works against their own best interests; a happy conformist who is making it clear to everyone that he’s happily conforming, to keep himself safe from the judgement of other conformists.
Everybody who reads 1984 thinks they would be Winston Smith and not Tom Parsons. Until the cage of rats.
“He loved Big Brother” is the most soul-crushing final line in literature.
-Bill Young, Vernon, Connecticut (billsplut gmail.com)
Yossarian: A person who seems paranoid but isn’t, because people really are out to get him.
After Capt. John Yossarian in Joseph Heller’s novel, Catch-22.
-Jim Distelhorst, Edmonds, Washington (jim.distelhorst gmail.com)
Marlowe: To investigate someone or something of dubious character. After my favorite character in fiction, the down-at-the-heels private detective Philip Marlowe.
-Tom Furgas, Youngstown, Ohio (tofu4879 gmail.com)
Leibowitz: To study diligently.
After the monks in Walter M. Miller Jr’s classic sci-fi novel A Canticle for Leibowitz who spend centuries preserving the work of Isaac Edward Leibowitz, the patron of their order.
-David Santangelo, Stevens Point, Wisconsin (dcsantangelo2005 comcast.net)
Rick Blaine: to do the right thing in a difficult situation -- despite great personal cost.
After Rick Blaine, owner of Rick’s American Café in the film Casablanca, who did the right thing in giving up Ilsa to support the work of Laszlo fighting the Nazιs.
Example: President Biden rick blained when he withdrew his candidacy in the 2020 election, and threw his weight behind Kamala Harris, hoping to achieve a Democratic victory over Donald Trump.
-Brenda J. Gannam, Brooklyn, New York (gannamconsulting earthlink.net)
Snopes: A person lacking either conscience or ethics who achieves power and riches for his own needs.
In his book The Hamlet William Faulkner creates the quietly cunning Flem Snopes, who quietly but effectively gains control of the riches and property of an entire community. Gradually but surely squeezing out more ethical competitors, he smothers what is good and traditional in the local culture. (All three volumes of the Snopes Trilogy are challenging reading in any decade, but perhaps very well-suited for the present!).
-Dave Campbell, Dayton, Washington (museumofdave gmail.com)
Scout: An extremely good-hearted, empathetic, thoughtful, confident, and highly intelligent tomboy in the best and most positive sense of the word. After Scout, one of my favorite characters in fiction, in To Kill A Mockingbird from Harper Lee.
-Gary Vollmer, Kassel, Germany (gary.vollmer arcor.de)
Javert: A person who sticks wholly to the letter of the law, for whom everything is only black & white and who has no real kindness or forgiveness for anyone who’s made a mistake.
After the police inspector in Les Misérables. There are no second chances with a Javert. Of course, in the end, a Javert always self-destructs, even though we may not be around to see it.
-Margaret Breuer, Sarasota, Florida (mabreuer0519 gmail.com)
Granny Weatherwax: a confident woman who defends others as needed. After Granny Weatherwax, a character from Terry Pratchett’s wonderful Discworld.
-Lauren Mulcahy, Cape Town, South Africa (gorlockza yahoo.com)
When my wife and I are watching a comic scene on television or at a play and the main character gets into a pickle that grows ever more absurdly worse as the scene progresses, we often say, “Oh, boy. I can’t watch. That’s too Lucy.” The reference is to the many antics and ridiculous lengths of the late comedienne Lucille Ball on the television hit from the 1950s, I Love Lucy, such as the infamous scene (video, 3 min.) in the chocolate factory’s wrapping department.
We also use the eponym to describe an appliance that goes awry, like so many did in Lucy’s home. For example we had a “Lucy toaster” that would pop the finished toast high up in the air, requiring a bit of acrobatics to catch it before it hit the ground. And we had a “Lucy washing machine” that tended to get so badly out of balance it would walk across the room and ooze prodigious amounts of soap bubbles out from around the lid. I think Dickens would approve.
-Terry Stone, Goldendale, Washington (cgs7952 bellsouth.net)
Kirkify: To talk an overwhelmingly powerful adversary to death when all else fails. From Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. (video, 9 min.)
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
I have Sherlocked, but it was when I was looking for something for my wife who had been on the couch feeling ill. I checked everywhere, tearing the couch apart, searching on and under the coffee table, in the refrigerator?! Finally, I announced that it had to be under the couch since it was nowhere else. With a flourish, I checked and there it was!
-Steve Reinheimer, Lake Placid, New York (sreinheimer gmail.com)
Hermione: A very clever person.
After Hermione Granger, a character in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
-Vivaan Jain Tomar, 11 years old, Mumbai Maharashtra (vivaanjaintomar gmail.com)
Gamgee: A true and loyal friend who would do anything, including facing real dangers, for a friend.
After Sam Gamgee, a friend of Frodo Baggins in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sam sacrificed much, even risking death to help Frodo complete his mission.
-Christopher Laryck, Niagara Falls, Canada (seigeehcj gmail.com)
-Ben Silverman, Playas de Rosarito, Mexico (bajabensilverman gmail.com)
Spock: Logical, not emotional.
After Mr. Spock of Star Trek.
-Oberon Zell, Asheville, North Carolina (oberon mcn.org)
Tom Parsons: Someone who consistently works against their own best interests; a happy conformist who is making it clear to everyone that he’s happily conforming, to keep himself safe from the judgement of other conformists.
Everybody who reads 1984 thinks they would be Winston Smith and not Tom Parsons. Until the cage of rats.
“He loved Big Brother” is the most soul-crushing final line in literature.
-Bill Young, Vernon, Connecticut (billsplut gmail.com)
Yossarian: A person who seems paranoid but isn’t, because people really are out to get him.
After Capt. John Yossarian in Joseph Heller’s novel, Catch-22.
-Jim Distelhorst, Edmonds, Washington (jim.distelhorst gmail.com)
Marlowe: To investigate someone or something of dubious character. After my favorite character in fiction, the down-at-the-heels private detective Philip Marlowe.
-Tom Furgas, Youngstown, Ohio (tofu4879 gmail.com)
Leibowitz: To study diligently.
After the monks in Walter M. Miller Jr’s classic sci-fi novel A Canticle for Leibowitz who spend centuries preserving the work of Isaac Edward Leibowitz, the patron of their order.
-David Santangelo, Stevens Point, Wisconsin (dcsantangelo2005 comcast.net)
Rick Blaine: to do the right thing in a difficult situation -- despite great personal cost.
After Rick Blaine, owner of Rick’s American Café in the film Casablanca, who did the right thing in giving up Ilsa to support the work of Laszlo fighting the Nazιs.
Example: President Biden rick blained when he withdrew his candidacy in the 2020 election, and threw his weight behind Kamala Harris, hoping to achieve a Democratic victory over Donald Trump.
-Brenda J. Gannam, Brooklyn, New York (gannamconsulting earthlink.net)
Snopes: A person lacking either conscience or ethics who achieves power and riches for his own needs.
In his book The Hamlet William Faulkner creates the quietly cunning Flem Snopes, who quietly but effectively gains control of the riches and property of an entire community. Gradually but surely squeezing out more ethical competitors, he smothers what is good and traditional in the local culture. (All three volumes of the Snopes Trilogy are challenging reading in any decade, but perhaps very well-suited for the present!).
-Dave Campbell, Dayton, Washington (museumofdave gmail.com)
Scout: An extremely good-hearted, empathetic, thoughtful, confident, and highly intelligent tomboy in the best and most positive sense of the word. After Scout, one of my favorite characters in fiction, in To Kill A Mockingbird from Harper Lee.
-Gary Vollmer, Kassel, Germany (gary.vollmer arcor.de)
Javert: A person who sticks wholly to the letter of the law, for whom everything is only black & white and who has no real kindness or forgiveness for anyone who’s made a mistake.
After the police inspector in Les Misérables. There are no second chances with a Javert. Of course, in the end, a Javert always self-destructs, even though we may not be around to see it.
-Margaret Breuer, Sarasota, Florida (mabreuer0519 gmail.com)
Granny Weatherwax: a confident woman who defends others as needed. After Granny Weatherwax, a character from Terry Pratchett’s wonderful Discworld.
-Lauren Mulcahy, Cape Town, South Africa (gorlockza yahoo.com)
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When my wife and I are watching a comic scene on television or at a play and the main character gets into a pickle that grows ever more absurdly worse as the scene progresses, we often say, “Oh, boy. I can’t watch. That’s too Lucy.” The reference is to the many antics and ridiculous lengths of the late comedienne Lucille Ball on the television hit from the 1950s, I Love Lucy, such as the infamous scene (video, 3 min.) in the chocolate factory’s wrapping department.
We also use the eponym to describe an appliance that goes awry, like so many did in Lucy’s home. For example we had a “Lucy toaster” that would pop the finished toast high up in the air, requiring a bit of acrobatics to catch it before it hit the ground. And we had a “Lucy washing machine” that tended to get so badly out of balance it would walk across the room and ooze prodigious amounts of soap bubbles out from around the lid. I think Dickens would approve.
-Terry Stone, Goldendale, Washington (cgs7952 bellsouth.net)
Kirkify: To talk an overwhelmingly powerful adversary to death when all else fails. From Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. (video, 9 min.)
-Steve Benko, New York, New York (stevebenko1 gmail.com)
I have Sherlocked, but it was when I was looking for something for my wife who had been on the couch feeling ill. I checked everywhere, tearing the couch apart, searching on and under the coffee table, in the refrigerator?! Finally, I announced that it had to be under the couch since it was nowhere else. With a flourish, I checked and there it was!
-Steve Reinheimer, Lake Placid, New York (sreinheimer gmail.com)
Hermione: A very clever person.
After Hermione Granger, a character in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
-Vivaan Jain Tomar, 11 years old, Mumbai Maharashtra (vivaanjaintomar gmail.com)
Gamgee: A true and loyal friend who would do anything, including facing real dangers, for a friend.
After Sam Gamgee, a friend of Frodo Baggins in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sam sacrificed much, even risking death to help Frodo complete his mission.
-Christopher Laryck, Niagara Falls, Canada (seigeehcj gmail.com)
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