Bunyan

Giant folklore woodsman

Bunyan refers to Paul Bunyan, a giant lumberjack of American folklore known for impossible feats of strength and his blue ox, Babe.

Tales of Paul Bunyan—carving the Grand Canyon, creating the Great Lakes—embody tall-tale exaggeration: a Bunyan-sized appetite, Bunyan-esque strength. (Lowercase bunion is a foot ailment.)

religious

John

Common male name

Pilgrim's ProgressAllegorical journey to salvation
allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
ChristianAdherent of the gospel

Bedford · preacher · Baptist · puritan · tinker · prison · dissenter · nonconformist · sermons · evangelical

literary

Paul

Biblical letter-writer

folkloreInherited cultural narratives
lumberjackProfessional tree cutter
BabeFond familiar name

tall tale · American · legend · logger · giant · frontier · mythology · Pecos Bill · Johnny Appleseed · folk hero

medical

blister

Fluid-filled skin swelling

footLeg's lowest part
sorePainful or annoyed
swellingAbnormal tissue enlargement

inflammation · friction · toe · heel · callus · irritation · painful · walking · shoe · rubbing

Categories

Baroque Era FiguresDescartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Hobbes
17th Century FiguresOliver Cromwell, Louis XIV, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Rembrandt
allegoryAnimal Farm, Narnia, The Little Prince, religious allegory, political allegory
Christian epicsParadise Lost, Divine Comedy, Pilgrim's Progress, Inferno, Paradiso
BunyanPilgrim's Progress, Christian, Vanity Fair, Beulah, Goodwill
Early English VerseChaucer, Spenser, Milton, Shakespeare, Donne

Opposites

FICTIONAL VS. REAL STATUS (Paul Bunyan)

Bunyanreal person

historical figures · real people · Daniel Boone · Davy Crockett · historical figure

SCALE AND EXAGGERATION (Paul Bunyan)

BunyanTom Thumb

Tiny folk tale hero

Thumbelina · Lilliputians · dwarfs · everyman · miniature figures

FRONTIER MYTHOLOGY (Paul Bunyan)

Bunyanconservationist

Protector of natural resources

John Muir · preservationist · city dweller · environmentalist · urbanite

Phrases

Paul BunyanMythic giant woodcutter

Family

bunion

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Mostly American · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G