Gulliver

/ˈɡʌlɪvər/ noun

Definition

A person who is gullible and easily fooled or tricked; from the famous literary character Gulliver who had many adventures.

Etymology

From Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel 'Gulliver's Travels,' the main character Lemuel Gulliver gets into fantastical situations partly through naivety. The name became used generically for anyone gullible.

Kelly Says

Swift's Gulliver is actually a clever satire—Gulliver isn't just naive, he's representing English society itself, so readers who laugh at him are sort of laughing at themselves, which is why satire is so much smarter than just being mean.

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