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Babbitt
Babbitt, novel by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1922.
George Folansbee Babbitt, an enterprising, moral, stereotyped, and prosperous real‐estate broker of the typical Midwestern city of Zenith, has been trained to believe in the virtues of home life, the Republican party, and middle‐class conventions. Suddenly tiring of his life, he takes a vacation with Paul Riesling, an artist who has been forced into the role of a businessman. His return to Zenith is at first difficult, but he shortly discovers pleasure in campaigning for a friend for mayor, in several profitable real‐estate deals, in the vice‐presidency of the Boosters' Club, and in speeches before prominent local gatherings. During his wife's absence, he again tries to find an outlet from Zenith standards. After an unsuccessful and lonely trip to Maine, he enters into a liaison with Mrs. Tanis Judique, an attractive widow who fails to be the “fairy child” of his dreams when he sees her in clear light in relation to her group of nondescript would‐be bohemians, “The Bunch.” He next turns to liberalism, when impressed by Seneca Doane, a socialist lawyer. For this added heresy he is ostracized by all right‐minded citizens. He is not again able to return to Zenith's outlook until his wife Myra is suddenly taken ill, and he once more feels a spiritual union with her and a sympathy with his city's point of view. |
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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Babbitt." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Babbitt." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Babbitt.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Babbitt." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Babbitt.html |
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Babbitt
Babbitt a term for a materialistic, complacent, and conformist businessman, from the name of the protagonist of the novel Babbitt (1922) by Sinclair Lewis.
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babbitt." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babbitt." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Babbitt.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babbitt." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Babbitt.html |
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Babbitt
Babbitt, a novel by S. Lewis.
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Babbitt." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Babbitt." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Babbitt.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Babbitt." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Babbitt.html |
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Babbitt
Babbitt
•acquit, admit, backlit, bedsit, befit, bit, Brit, Britt, chit, commit, demit, dit, emit, fit, flit, frit, git, grit, hit, intermit, it, kit, knit, legit, lickety-split, lit, manumit, mishit, mitt, nit, omit, outsit, outwit, permit, pit, Pitt, pretermit, quit, remit, retrofit, shit, sit, skit, slit, snit, spit, split, sprit, squit, submit, tit, transmit, twit, whit, wit, writ, zit
•albeit, howbeit
•poet
•bluet, cruet, intuit, suet, Yuit
•Inuit • floruit • Jesuit
•Babbitt, cohabit, habit, rabbet, rabbit
•ambit, gambit
•jackrabbit • barbet • Nesbit • rarebit
•adhibit, exhibit, gibbet, inhibit, prohibit
•titbit (US tidbit) • flibbertigibbet
•Cobbett, gobbet, hobbit, obit, probit
•orbit • Tobit
•cubit, two-bit
•hatchet, latchet, ratchet
•Pritchett
•crotchet, rochet
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Cite this article
"Babbitt." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babbitt." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Babbitt.html "Babbitt." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Babbitt.html |
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