| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,506,590,778 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Cowardice |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Wikipedia | 0.09 sec. |
|
Cowardice See also Boastfulness, Timidity. Acres, Bob a swaggerer lacking in courage. [Br. Lit.: The Rivals] vainglorious braggart, vaunts achievements while rationalizing faintheartedness. [Br. Lit.: Every Man in His Humour] slang insult used toward the timid. [Western Folklore: Jobes, 322] pathetically lacks courage. [Br. Lit.: The Fair Maid of Perth]
to hit a man while he is down. [Fr. Folklore: Espy, 62] king of the forest has yellow streak up back. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] always leads the retreat and is the first to hide from the enemy. [Br. Opera: Gilbert and Sullivan The Gondoliers] “the better part of valor is discretion.” [Br. Lit.: I Henry IV] young recruit, in his first battle, runs away in terror. [Am. Lit.: Stephen Crane The Red Badge of Courage] during Mexican war, ran when action began. [Am. Hist.: Espy, 183] poltroon claiming credit for another’s feat. [Ital. Lit.: Orlando Furioso] rogue who in several adventures proves to be a great coward. [Fr. Lit.: Rabelais Gargantua and Pantagruel] always removes himself a safe distance from his master’s combats. [Span. Lit.: Cervantes Don Quixote] homeloving and fearful of death, reluctant to combat the pirate band. [Br. Opera: Gilbert and Sullivan The Pirates of Penzance] played in British Army to expel dishonored soldier. [Br. Music: Scholes, 885] foolish suitor repulsed by widow with household utensil. [Br. Lit.: Ralph Roister Doister] stock character in commedia dell’arte; boastful poltroon. [Ital. Drama: Brewer Dictionary, 967] color symbolizing cowardice. [Western Culture: Misc.] How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
|---|---|---|
Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. That the contrary of a good is an evil is shown by induction: the contrary of health is disease, of courage, cowardice, and so on. On hearing this the Lion groaned and lamented very much and, reproaching himself with his cowardice, wished that he might die. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Browser extension |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|