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Bunyanesque

 
Dictionary: Bun·yan·esque   (bŭn'yə-nĕsk') pronunciation
adj.
  1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of the allegorical writings of John Bunyan.
    1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of the legend of Paul Bunyan.
    2. Of astonishingly large size: "Bunyanesque waves . . . crunched homes and municipal piers into little more than kindling wood" (Time).

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(bun-yuh-NESK)

adjective
1. Gigantic; of or relating to the legends of the fictional hero Paul Bunyan.
2. Of or relating to the allegorical style of the author John Bunyan.
The first sense of the word alludes to the legendary giant Paul Bunyan. He was a lumberjack and an American folk hero of tall tales. The story goes that the infant Paul was so huge that it took a mustering of storks to deliver him. An example of his ability is a story that when he dragged his axe behind him, he created the Grand Canyon (a near-rhyme for Bunyan).
John Bunyan (no relation to Paul Bunyan) was a 17th century English preacher famed for his allegorical novel Pilgrim's Progress.

Usage
"Once again, a Dominican strongman with a catchy nickname -- Big Papi -- is up against a strapping native strongman of Bunyanesque dimensions -- Thome." — Gordon Edes; Ramirez Will Rest During Break; The Boston Globe; Jul 8, 2006.


 
 
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garlic (culinary)
Jon Agee (children's author/illustrator)
Berl Senofsky

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more

 

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