Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who unconsciously mimics the traits or appearances of those with whom he or she associates.
- noun One having a ubiquitous, often inconspicuous presence.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An ordinary person who can change his appearance or behaviour to suit his surroundings, especially one who is unexpectedly associated with important people or events.
- noun An unimportant person who appears at multiple important events.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The cheaply Pythonesque, if intermittently amusing, video montages that accompany this show insert, "Zelig" - style, the cast of "Rain" into archival footage from Shea Stadium and so on.
chicagotribune.com - 2009
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These pickles, called Zelig's Pickles at the school, after the pickle expert who helped the students make them I think, Noah was a bit fuzzy on this are raw and lacto-fermented, made in the old style without vinegar.
Pickles With a Purpose -- Kosher Half Sours Help Students Connect with Heritage and More FJK 2008
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His targets: the Beltway Bandits (including anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, whom Brooks calls the "Zelig of Republican catastrophe"), the Big Government Blowhards (i.e., the talk-radio jocks), the Show Horses (Palin and Bachmann), and the Permanent Campaigners (Brooks doesn't name Eric Cantor here, but it's pretty clear to whom he's referring).
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I still watch "The Brady Bunch" so having Eve Plumb in our home recently for a piece I was writing was one of those moments that made me feel as if I'd stepped into a "Zelig" sequel, plunked down into yet another pop culture play-lette.
Chris Epting: Hello It's Me -- Dispatches from a Pop Culture Junkie 2010
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I still watch "The Brady Bunch" so having Eve Plumb in our home recently for a piece I was writing was one of those moments that made me feel as if I'd stepped into a "Zelig" sequel, plunked down into yet another pop culture play-lette.
Chris Epting: Hello It's Me -- Dispatches from a Pop Culture Junkie Chris Epting 2010
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My grandmother was a friend of Jean Petersshe was kind of Zelig-like in that respect and gran has been dead for almost twenty years.
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As you can see, if you look closely at "The New York Times," on their web site announcement is my "Zelig" moment.
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As you can see, if you look closely at "The New York Times," on their Web site announcement, my "Zelig" moment.
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One of the earliest attempts to combine old and new film footage was Woody Allen's 1983 film "Zelig," a remarkable achievement for the day.
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With characteristic self-effacement (thinly concealing a healthy ego), Gates has described himself as "a sort of global Forrest Gump," a kind of Zelig of cold-war Washington who has served seven presidents (mostly at the CIA) and worked with world figures from Margaret Thatcher to Anwar Sadat to Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Gates Keeper 2007
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