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Definition of Rip Van Winkle noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Rip Van Winkle

noun
 
/ˌrɪp væn ˈwɪŋkl/
 
/ˌrɪp væn ˈwɪŋkl/
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  1. a person who is surprised to find how much the world has changed over a period of time
    More Like This Expressions from literary sourcesExpressions from literary sources
    Word OriginFrom the name of a character in a short story by the US writer Washington Irving. He sleeps for 20 years and wakes up to find that the world has completely changed.
See Rip Van Winkle in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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