Poverty (redirected from penury)

Poverty

Aglaus

poorest man in Arcadia, but happier than king. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 13]

Appalachia

West Virginia coal mining region known for its abysmal poverty. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 160]

Apple Annie

apple seller on street corners during Depression. [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 11]

bare feet

symbol of impoverishment. [Folklore: Jobes, 181]

Barnardo Home

one of many homes founded for destitute children. [Br. Hist.: NCE, 233]

Bashmachkin, Akakii Akakiievich

poor clerk saves years for overcoat that is soon stolen. [Russ. Lit.: “The Overcoat” in The Overcoat and Other Stories]

Bonhomme, Jacques

nickname for poor French peasants. [Fr. Folklore: Walsh Classical, 59]

Booth, Captain

continually in and out of debtor’s prison. [Br. Lit.: Amelia]

Buddha

religious leader exchanges wealth for the robe of an ascetic mendicant. [Buddhism: NCE, 387]

Bung

experiences modified and extreme levels of want. [Br. Lit.: Sketches by Boz]

Clare of Assisi, St.

lived entirely on alms; founded “Poor Glares.” [Christian Hagiog.: Attwater, 87]

Cratchit, Bob

Scrooge’s poorly paid clerk. [Br. Lit.: A Christmas Carol]

Crawley, Rev. Josiah

debt-maddened clergyman. [Br. Lit.: Last Chronicle of Barset]

Francis, St. (1182–1226)

renounced his worldly life and possessions, extolled the virtue of poverty. [Christian Hagiog.: Brewer Dictionary, 375]

Grapes of Wrath, The

about the Joad family; jobless, facing starvation. [Am. Lit.: The Grapes of Wrath]

Great Depression

economic crisis of 1929–1939, unprecedented in length and widespread poverty. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 1132]

Grub Street

London street; home of indigent writers. [Br. Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 394]

Hell’s Kitchen

section of midtown Manhattan; notorious for slums and high crime rate. [Am. Usage: Misc.]

Hooverville

Depression shantytown arising during Hoover administration. [Amer. Hist.: Flexner, 118]

Hubbard, Old Mother

had not even a bone for her dog. [Nurs. Rhyme: Opie, 317]

Job

lost everything he owned to Satan. [O.T.: Job]

Job’s

turkey one-feathered bird even more destitute than its owner. [Can. and Am. Usage: Brewer Dictionary, 589]

Lazarus

satisfied with table scraps; dogs licked sores. [N.T.: Luke 16:19–22]

Micawber, Wilkins

optimistic, though chronically penniless and in debt. [Br. Lit.: David Copperfield]

Okies

itinerant dust bowl farmers (1930s). [Am. Hist.: Van Doren, 455; Am. Lit.: The Grapes of Wrath]

War

on Poverty U.S. government program of 1960’s to aid the needy. [Am. Hist.: WB, J:120]

Yellow Kid, the

grotesque unchildish slum-child, one of the impoverished inhabitants of Hogan’s Alley. [Comics: Berger, 25]