proverbial

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

De Meo, seeming satisfied, later said it had been a characteristically direct intervention from someone like him, arriving with his proverbial big boots rather than ideals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

The Pitt is a sort of proverbial pit that we've all found ourselves in since Covid that we can't quite climb out of.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Next to all that, a rocky relationship styled into an on-and-off situationship for a reality TV subplot is the proverbial hill of beans Rick Blaine mentioned in “Casablanca.”

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

Many Angelenos don’t know Eastern Pacific green sea turtles are swimming in their proverbial backyard, but they are — and they’re thriving.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Jefferson seemed to think that, once unmoored from British docks and unburdened of European baggage, the ship would sail itself into the proverbial sunset.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis