Balaam
[beilæm]
Definition
(n.) A paragraph describing something wonderful, used to fill out a newspaper column; -- an allusion to the miracle of Balaam's ass speaking.
Typist: Stanley
Definition
n. a prophet who strives to mislead like Balaam in Numb. xxii.-xxiv.: unimportant paragraphs kept in readiness to fill up a newspaper.—ns. Bā′laam-box or -bas′ket a place in which paragraphs such as the foregoing are kept in readiness; Bā′laamite.—adj. Bālaamit′ical.
Editor: Nicolas
Examples
- It was almost as amusing to the Victorian English as the story of Balaam's ass. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He did not mention that he was a lineal descendant of Balaam's ass, but everybody knew that without his telling it. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Like Balaam and other unwilling prophets, the agents seem moved by an inner compulsion to say and do their allotted parts whether they will or no. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
Editor: Nicolas