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Cunning |
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Cunning See also Trickery. Adler, Irene cleverly foiled Sherlock Holmes and the King of Bohemia. [Br. Lit.: Doyle “A Scandal in Bohemia” in Sherlock Holmes] nickname for the sly pickpocket, John Dawkins. [Br. Lit.: Oliver Twist] clever, hell-born hero. [Fr. Lit.: Le Diable Boiîteux, Walsh Modern, 31] craftiest of thieves; stole neighbors’ flocks by changing marks. [Gk. Myth.: NCE, 192] law clerk with “strange wild slyness.” [Br. Lit.: Pickwick Papers] cleverness and timing bring him England’s crown. [Br. Lit.: Richard II] (1476–1507) unscrupulously plotted against friend and foe. [Ital. Hist.: Plumb, 59–61] sly trickster; outwits everyone. [Children’s Lit.: Uncle Remus] for whom no trap is too tricky. [Comics: Horn, 140] pounces without warning on prey. [Western Folklore: Jobes, 320] manipulates Antony through her “infinite variety.” [Br. Lit.: Antony and Cleopatra] symbolizes one who lives by his wits. [Western Folklore: Jobes, 388]
contracts for as much land as can be enclosed by an oxhide; by cutting it into a strip she obtains enough to found a city. [Rom. Legend: Collier’s VI, 259] epithet of Hermes, meaning ‘crafty.’ [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 124] delayed meeting Hannibal’s troops; wore them down; hence, fabian. [Rom. Hist.: Espy, 177] ingeniously contrives means to his own ends. [Fr. Lit.: Barber of Seville; Marriage of Figaro] symbol of cleverness and deceit. [Animal Symbolism: Mercatante, 84–85] shrewd old man always turns the table on mischievous kids. [Comics: Horn, 602] tricks husband into fulfilling marital duties. [Br. Lit.: All’s Well That Ends Well] beat the swift Atalanta in a race by distracting her with golden apples. [Gk. Myth.: Bulfinch] frustrates captor while pretending compliance. [Ital. Opera: Rossini, Italian Girl in Algeria, Westerman, 118–119] outwits the tiger; imprisons him. [Hindu Folklore: Mercatante, 55] grows rich by tricks and extortions. [Dan. Lit.: Andersen’s Fairy Tales] carries net on back to “catch fools with.” [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene] (1732–1795) Revolutionary general, nick-named the “Swamp Fox.” [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 308] female slave cleverly dispatches 40 thieves. [Arab. Lit.: Arabian Nights, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”] wily and noble hero of the Odyssey. [Gk. Lit.: Odyssey] shrewd landowner with admirable bargaining ability. [Fr. Lit.: Mont-Oriol, Magill I, 618–620] “received answers in twelve known and unknown tongues.” [Fr. Lit.: Gargantua and Pantagruel] clever at finding fine points and technicalities. [Am. Usage: Misc.] thrives on outwitting Wile E. Coyote. [Comics: “Beep Beep the Road Runner” in Horn, 105] hoodwinks friends into painting fence. [Am. Lit.: Tom Sawyer]
escapes being put to death by telling stories for 1001 nights. [Arab. Lit.: Arabian Nights] subtly deceives Eve in the Garden. [O.T.: Genesis 3:1] induces Trojans to take in wooden horse. [Rom. Lit.: Aeneid] indicates cleverness. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 177] outwits Wolf; lures him into boiling water. [Children’s Lit.: Bettelheim, 41–45] ingeniously rescues his master, Mr. Pickwick, from many scrapes. [Br, Lit.: Dickens Pickwick Papers] outwits ferocious giant and gains his talismanic possessions. [Br. Fairy Tale: “Molly Whipple” in Macleod, 58–641 symbol on coats of arms. [Heraldry: Halberts, 16] 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. |
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"For some reason," said Glinda, "we have failed to find this cunning old Mombi; so I fear our expedition will prove a failure. By the aid of cunning architects he had first blasted his harbour into shape, then built his hotels and pleasure-palaces, and then leased them to dependants of his who knew the right sort of people, and who knew that it was as much as their lease was worth to find accommodation for teetotal amateur photographers or wistful wandering Sunday-school treats. He saw the avidity with which Numa devoured the carcass; he noted with growing admiration the finer points of the beast, and also the cunning construction of the trap. |
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