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Dick Whittington. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
After Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423), English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London and financed various public projects. He is remembered in a pantomime called Dick Whittington and His Cat, in which he sets out for London to make his fortune.
Noun
Dick Whittington (plural Dick Whittingtons)
- (UK) Somebody who moves to London in the hope of better prospects.
1911, The Sunday at Home, page 194:"Fine! Ye couldn't beat it. And you'd go off to London, or some such place—"
"I should like it to be London."
"Oh, of course; there's plenty of Dick Whittingtons left yet. But there's more petrol than pearls about the London pavement now. […]
2009, What's Up, Britain?, page 42:Britain's twenty-somethings have become iPod-carrying Dick Whittingtons, drawn to London by the prospect of large salaries and hopes of a vibrant social life.