Meaning of ancient marineress | Babel Free

Definitions

An old woman who bears some resemblance to Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, especially one who has an unfortunate history or insists on telling her story.

Examples

“Further than this mystic demonstration none of them had gotten, so far, for Mrs. Parker kept her glittering eye on them like an Ancient Marineress and “The boldest held his breath for a time!””

“Here’s to the health of my respected ancient mariner-ess—a veritable old maid, all forlorn, whose legacy is a long time coming, but sure to get here some time.”

““I’m all ready,’ announced the fluffy haired girl just then, thrusting the last long pin through her new hat. “So am I,” said the sallow young woman. “But the ancient marineress here—” “Sit down,” commanded the philosopher.”

“Two humorous numbers were given. One by Mr. G. C. Donovan, Lexington, N. C., which was entitled, Breakers Ahead, and in which he depicted Elon life and society in the year of grace 1950. The other was an original impersonation by Esmond R. Riedel, Holland, Va., to which he gave the title, The Ancient Marineress. It was a graphic portrayal of one of our “evening sisters” making her maiden voyage to London.”

“But now it’s Shirley finally making her film debut as the slattern looking for her lost youth in “Come Back, Little Sheba” for Hal Wallis and she’s hailing the advent with: “The ancient marineress finally arrives in Hollywood.[…]””

“The worst of this lot of frustrated authors was a trembling old woman who insisted that he must read her manuscript immediately or it would be stolen by her enemies. . . . Unable to shake off this Ancient Marineress, he took her into his office, opened the huge ribbon tied manuscript, and found only blank pages.”

“But an hour later we observed what emphatically was a figure, seated under a bush with some camels round it. Hussein and I trotted over. It was an old, old woman, an Ancient Marineress of the desert, and she was cracking lice in the head of a small boy wrapped in a goatskin.”

“Jenny has the reputation of being an “ancient marineress”[…]”

“For her part, as Ruth navigates her way through public readings, interviews and a cranky widow who keeps popping up like an unwelcome Ancient Marineress, she is, as Irving puts it, “almost pathologically afraid of her readers, because she’s associated all of them with the potential that lurks in her most obsessive and crazed fans.””

“The latter had likewise been seduced by the Professor—likewise summarily dumped—and wished to revile the P. with some other local Ancient Marineress who might lend a sympathetic ear.”

““Your father was the best baseball player anyone had ever seen.” Excited but halting, her voice ran on past all obstacles. “We watched him play shortstop, and my father said he was the best, and my brothers too. The Cardinals sent a man down to talk to him about one of their teams.” Like an ancient marineress, she would not let go. She meant the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm teams.”

CEFR level