RIP VAN WINKLE


Meaning of RIP VAN WINKLE in English

ˌripˌvanˈwiŋkəl noun

( -s )

Usage: usually capitalized R&V&W

Etymology: after Rip Van Winkle, fictional ne'er-do-well in the Catskill mountains of New York state in colonial days who slept for 20 years, as portrayed in a story of The Sketch Book (1820) by Washington Irving died 1859 American writer

: someone not alert to current conditions

some Rip Van Winkle in an obscure corner … who has read nothing for four years — Manchester Guardian Weekly

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.