simon-pure

[ sahy-muhn-pyoor ]

adjective

1. real; genuine:

   a simon-pure accent.

simon-pure

adjective

1. real; genuine; authentic

Word History and Origins

Origin of simon-pure¹

1710–20; short for the real Simon Pure, alluding to the victim of impersonation in Susanna Centlivre's play A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1718)

Word History and Origins

Origin of simon-pure¹

C19: from the phrase the real Simon Pure, name of a character in the play A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1717) by Susannah Centlivre (1669–1723) who is impersonated by another character in some scenes

Idioms and Phrases

Absolutely genuine, quite authentic, as in That laboratory test was simon pure; none of the specimens was adulterated . This expression comes from the name of a character in a play, Susannah Centilivre's A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1717), who is the victim of an impersonation but turns up in the end and proves that he is “the real Simon Pure.”

Example Sentences

But the notion that small community banks are somehow simon-pure, in contrast to the risk-happy banks of the East and West Coasts, is ludicrous on its face.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Kidnap Murder Case” is real, simon-pure Van Dine, and that should be good enough for anybody.

From New York Times

Organized crime, in the place that liked to preen that it was the simon-pure “white spot” of America?

From Los Angeles Times

And Canadians, with their British-oriented sensibilities, were conscious of amateurism and the role that sport played among the simon-pure.

From New York Times

The simon-pure unionists, the A. F. of L., the Woman's Trade Union League, are fighting for little shop improvements, different in every trade.

From Project Gutenberg