View synonyms for

simon-pure

[sahy-muhn-pyoor]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

real; genuine.
a simon-pure accent.

simon-pure

adjective

real; genuine; authentic

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of simon-pure¹

1710–20; short for the real Simon Pure, alluding to the victim of impersonation in Susanna Centlivre's play A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1718)

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of simon-pure¹

C19: from the phrase the real Simon Pure, name of a character in the play A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1717) by Susannah Centlivre (1669–1723) who is impersonated by another character in some scenes

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Absolutely genuine, quite authentic, as in That laboratory test was simon pure; none of the specimens was adulterated. This expression comes from the name of a character in a play, Susannah Centilivre's A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1717), who is the victim of an impersonation but turns up in the end and proves that he is “the real Simon Pure.”

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But the notion that small community banks are somehow simon-pure, in contrast to the risk-happy banks of the East and West Coasts, is ludicrous on its face.

From

“The Kidnap Murder Case” is real, simon-pure Van Dine, and that should be good enough for anybody.

From

Organized crime, in the place that liked to preen that it was the simon-pure “white spot” of America?

From

And Canadians, with their British-oriented sensibilities, were conscious of amateurism and the role that sport played among the simon-pure.

From

The simon-pure unionists, the A. F. of L., the Woman's Trade Union League, are fighting for little shop improvements, different in every trade.

From

Simon Peter Simon says

Browse