16 February 2017
dapper
[dap-er]
adjective
1. neat; trim; smart:
He looked very dapper in his new suit.
2. lively and brisk:
to walk with a dapper step.
3. small and active.
Origin of dapper
late Middle English Middle Dutch
1400-1450; late Middle English daper < Middle Dutch dapper nimble, stalwart; cognate with German tapfer brave
Related forms
dapperly, adverb
dapperness, noun
undapper, adjective
Synonyms
1. spruce, modish, jaunty, natty.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for dapper
Contemporary Examples
A dapper man with a Georgian charm, Crumpton is sometimes called the “American James Bond.”
CIA’s Henry Crumpton on the Heroes You’ll Never Know
Miranda Green
November 14, 2012
There, the actor—dressed like a dapper, blood-soaked zombie—took on the Michael Jackson classic “Thriller.”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s 9 Best Musical Performances: Jimmy Fallon, Lady Gaga, More
Marlow Stern
September 26, 2013
The young actor has also gained marks for his dapper red-carpet style, which he credits to fashion designer Tom Ford.
Nicholas Hoult on ‘Warm Bodies,’ ‘X-Men,’ Jennifer Lawrence & More
Marlow Stern
January 31, 2013
Among the ghosts in that alluring photo is Harold L. “Doc” Humes, dapper in suit, vest, and bow tie.
Plimpton’s Crazy Co-Conspirator
Ronald K. Fried
December 7, 2008
One of the few exceptions is James Lindon, dapper director of PaceWildenstein, who always wears something interesting.
Venice by Foot
Bettina Von Hase
June 9, 2009
Historical Examples
It was Lasalle, and with him was a lame gentleman, very neatly dressed in black with dapper ruffles and cuffs.
The Exploits Of Brigadier Gerard
Arthur Conan Doyle
The dapper little officer in khaki was Aguinaldo, and this is the story of how I saw him.
Bamboo Tales
Ira L. Reeves
They went to where they found the dapper warriors standing in the court in a great press of welcoming knights.
The Nibelungenlied
Unknown
Major Forsyth arrived in time for tea, red-faced, dapper, and immaculate.
The Hero
William Somerset Maugham
A genial gentleman, the druggist, white-coated and dapper, stepping affably about the fragrant-smelling store.
Half Portions
Edna Ferber
Anagram
rapped
per pad
Today’s quote
It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives.
– President Lyndon B. Johnson
On this day
16 February 1923 – the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen in Egypt is opened, after it was recently discovered by British archaeologist, Howard Carter. The tomb was 3,000 years old.
16 February 1936 – The left-wing Popular Front is elected to power in Spain. The Popular Front was a coalition of numerous Communist and Socialist parties, including the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Communist Party of Spain (PCE), Worker’ Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), Republican Left (IR) and Republican Union Party (UR). The pact which enabled the formation of the Popular Front was supported by Galician (PG) and Catalan nationalists (ERC), the Workers’ General Union (UGT) and the anarchist trade union, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). The Popular Front had defeated the National Front (a coalition of right-wing parties) in the elections, and was formed to combat the rising tide of right-wing Fascism throughout Europe. In July 1936, conservative monarchists led by General Francisco Franco instigated a military coup that started the Spanish Civil War. Franco received backing from Mussolini and Hitler, while some of the left-wing forces, including the International Brigade (formed of volunteers from all over Europe) received backing from Stalin. British author, George Orwell, a democratic socialist, travelled to Spain and fought with the POUM because he wanted to help defeat Fascism. It was only be chance that Orwell didn’t join the International Brigade. The POUM (an anti-Stalinist Communist Party) was declared an illegal organisation in 1937 by the government in an effort by Communist forces to purge Troskyists, forcing Orwell to flee or face imprisonment. Orwell wrote of his Spanish Civil War experience in Homage to Catalonia. His experience made him a life-long anti-Stalinist and committed Democratic Socialist. In April 1939, Franco’s forces defeated the Popular Front, installing him as President. Franco ruled Spain with a military dictatorship until his death in 1975.
16 February 1959 – Fidel Castro sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba after leading a successful revolution against the President Batista.
16 February 1983 – Ash Wednesday bush-fires burn more than 4,000km2 of land in South Australia and Victoria, killing 75 people (47 in Victoria and 28 in South Australia), destroying more than 3,700 buildings, and more than 2,500 people lost their homes.