Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is the magical English nanny created by P.L.
Travers, popularized by the 1964 Disney film.
The name has become shorthand for an impossibly perfect caregiver—prim, competent, and slightly supernatural: We're not looking for Mary Poppins, just someone reliable.
Someone described as Mary Poppins is cheerfully efficient, perhaps unrealistically so.
Handheld rain shelter
- carpetbagTextile-sided traveling bag
- levitationUnsupported aerial suspension
- flyingMoving through air
- floatingStaying atop liquid
snap of fingers · mirror reflection · talking · medicine · chalk drawing · lamplight · enchantment · impossible
Private household teacher
- nannyHired child caretaker
- strictRigorous, without flexibility
- practicalSuited for real use
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
proper · sensible · authoritative · dignified · poised · firm · commanding · mysterious
England's capital city
- chimney sweepOne who cleans hearth vents
- nurseryRoom for infants
- rooftopBuilding's top exterior surface
- parlorFormal room for visitors
suffragette · bank · tuppence · St. Paul's Cathedral · kite · park · fog · cobblestone
Manhattan theatrical district
- supercalifragilisticexpialidociousCoined term for extraordinary
- choreographyDesigning performance movement sequences
- showtunesSongs from musicals
- DisneyMajor entertainment conglomerate
soundtrack · sing-along · Oscar · score · orchestra
Imaginatively unrealistic
- playfulInclined toward fun
- mischievousPlayfully causing trouble
- eccentricUnconventional in character
- quirkyIdiosyncratically unusual
enchanting · lighthearted · jaunty · sprightly · breezy · topsy-turvy · nonsensical · absurd
umbrella
Handheld rain shelter
- carpetbagTextile-sided traveling bag
- levitationUnsupported aerial suspension
- flyingMoving through air
floating · snap of fingers · mirror reflection · talking · medicine · chalk drawing · lamplight · enchantment · impossible · wonder
governess
Private household teacher
prim · proper · sensible · authoritative · dignified · poised · firm · commanding · mysterious · aloof
London
England's capital city
- chimney sweepOne who cleans hearth vents
- nurseryRoom for infants
- rooftopBuilding's top exterior surface
parlor · suffragette · bank · tuppence · St. Paul's Cathedral · kite · park · fog · cobblestone · lamplighter
Broadway
Manhattan theatrical district
- supercalifragilisticexpialidociousCoined term for extraordinary
- choreographyDesigning performance movement sequences
- showtunesSongs from musicals
Disney · soundtrack · sing-along · Oscar · score · orchestra
fanciful
Imaginatively unrealistic
- playfulInclined toward fun
- mischievousPlayfully causing trouble
- eccentricUnconventional in character
quirky · enchanting · lighthearted · jaunty · sprightly · breezy · topsy-turvy · nonsensical · absurd · delightful
- Adapted NovelsHarry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings
- 60s CinemaDr. Strangelove, The Graduate, Easy Rider, Bonnie and Clyde, Lawrence of Arabia
- Famous Marys
- Magical Movies/ShowsHarry Potter, Bewitched, Sabrina, Enchanted, The Witches
- West End MusicalsCats, Evita, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar
- Nanny ShowsThe Nanny
Mary Poppinswicked stepmother
Folkloric maternal villain
evil stepmother · Nurse Ratched · Cruella de Vil · absent parent · deadbeat dad
Mary PoppinsCaptain Hook
Pirate with metal appendage
Maleficent · Ursula · Fagin · villain
Mary PoppinsOscar the Grouch
Pig-Pen · Beetlejuice · the Grinch · Shrek · Miss Piggy