Oliver Twist

noun

1. a novel (1838) by Dickens.

Oliver Twist

1. (1838) A novel by Charles Dickens ; the title character is an orphan boy. In one famous scene, Oliver is severely punished for asking for more gruel, or porridge (“Please, sir, I want some more”). Oliver later becomes a pickpocket in a gang of young thieves led by Fagin . Violent in plot , the book exposes the inadequacies of British public institutions for dealing with the poverty of children like Oliver.

Example Sentences

Until a tragic accident at a party—mom is pushed off a cliff by a trio of aggressive dalmatians, hence the canine hostility—leaves her scraping by like an Artful Dodger in a 1970s-set Oliver Twist.

From The Daily Beast

They’re reminiscent of the comic weirdness of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” and Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22.”

From Washington Post

I was in a production of Oliver Twist and I was a passerby, and I had five words: “Coming down the street there!”

From The Daily Beast

Oliver Twist is really an ideal example, especially in a crime drama.

From The Daily Beast

He looks like Fagin from Oliver Twist—wiry, with long, graying hair and a perfectly pointy beard.

From The Daily Beast

Oliver Twist grew up in the peaceful and happy home of Mrs. Maylie, under the tender affection of two good women.

From Project Gutenberg

For the first six months after Oliver Twist was removed, the system was in full operation.

From Project Gutenberg

And when are you going to hear a full, true, and particular account of the life and adventures of Oliver Twist?

From Project Gutenberg

Come, said Mr. Brownlow, these are not the characteristics of young Oliver Twist; so he neednt excite your wrath.

From Project Gutenberg

If you are ever lucky enough to feast on a canvas-back roasted as above, you will be apt to borrow a leaf from Oliver Twist.

From Project Gutenberg