luftmensch
Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun One more concerned with airy intellectual pursuits than practical matters like earning an income.
Examples
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The story begins when Voshchev, a classic Chekhovian luftmensch, is fired from his job for excessive 'thoughtfulness amid the general tempo of labor.'
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Greenberg's arrogant luftmensch routine is infuriating - everyone but him wants to live in the here and now.
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Joseph père, a luftmensch who thinks that 'nature uses man,' is convinced that 'lifelessness … is only a disguise behind which lie unknown forms of life. Wood is alive.'
Note
'Luftmensch' is Yiddish in origin, with 'luft' meaning 'air,' and 'mensch' meaning 'person.' A 'mensch' also refers to 'a person of integrity and honor.'
