EPONYMS VI

CHARACTER REFERENCE

GAMES Magazine

May, 1999

David Cook

 

Some fictional characters have become eponyms - that is, their names or words derived from them, have become words with meanings related to the characters' traits. For example,  a "Pollyanna" is a foolishly optimistic person, as in Eleanor Parker's novel, Pollyanna. Can you name the eponym or related character defined by each of the following clues? Sources of the characters are shown in parentheses. 

1. A miserly person (Dickens)

2. Enormous or colossal (Rabelais)

3. A romantic lover (Shakespeare)

4. Trivial or trite (Disney)

5. A wise and trusted advisor (Homer)

6. Someone with very outdated views (Irving)

7. A person who has two distinct personalities, one good and one evil (Stevenson)

8. A man who seems unwilling or unable to give up his boyish or immature ways (Barrie)

9. A person or thing that achieves deserved recognition after being unknown and neglected (folk tale)

10. An instance of unintentional confusion of words that produces a funny/ridiculous effect (Sheridan)

Answers:

 

1. Scrooge

2. Gargantuan

3. Romeo

4. Mickey Mouse

5. Mentor

6. Rip van Winkle

7. Jekyll and Hyde

8. Peter Pan

9. Cinderella

10. Malapropism