proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl 
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
2
: that has become a proverb or byword : commonly spoken of
the proverbial smoking gun
Examples of proverbial in a Sentence
Insanity roamed through her large midwestern tribe, cloistered in proverbial dark closets in gabled houses in areas of the country where no one else lived for miles and miles …
—
Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991
I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990
Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991
I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990
Recent Examples on the Web
While the Yankees seemed on the proverbial five-yard line or were in the red zone with potentially obtaining Flaherty, Yamamoto was another story.
—Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2024
The fans will return next year, the team will swing for the proverbial fences yet again, most likely with another shot at winning the World Series.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
And no, Ohtani will not run into the proverbial phone booth and sprint out to the mound to surprise everyone.
—Mark Osborne, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024
And while the adult Liverman opted for facials rather than hair removal as the central premise for her business, the apple doesn’t fall far from the proverbial tree.
—Jennifer Weil, WWD, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for proverbial 
Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2024
The fans will return next year, the team will swing for the proverbial fences yet again, most likely with another shot at winning the World Series.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
And no, Ohtani will not run into the proverbial phone booth and sprint out to the mound to surprise everyone.
—Mark Osborne, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024
And while the adult Liverman opted for facials rather than hair removal as the central premise for her business, the apple doesn’t fall far from the proverbial tree.
—Jennifer Weil, WWD, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for proverbial
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'proverbial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near proverbial
Cite this Entry
“Proverbial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proverbial. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
proverbial wisdom
2
: commonly spoken of
the proverbial beginner's luck
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