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Besides Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" what other characters in literature use the word "humbug"?
Question
#73648. Asked by star_gazer. (Dec 22 06 1:22 PM)
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skysmom65
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In The Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow denounces the Wizard as a humbug, which the Wizard concedes is true.
In Stephen King's Dark Tower series, many of the villains turn about to humbugs (or bumhugs as the series says); characters who appear menacing but are vanquished with little to no fanfare.
Both meanings of the term were used for comic effect in Blackadder's Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Blackadder's first line is "Humbug, humbug!", which is heard by Mr. Baldrick in the streets, making it seem as if he is in a foul mood. However, he enters his shop with a bag of sweets, saying kindly "Humbug, Mr Baldrick?".
In Norton Juster's book The Phantom Tollbooth, the Humbug is anthropomorphized as an insectlike character who makes grandiose claims about himself and his ancestry. ("As my great-great grandfather, George Washington Humbug used to say--")
In Charles Dickens's Great Expectations about old ladies and the gentleman at Mrs. Havisham's young Pip said "... the snowplow conveyed to me that they were all toadies and humbugs".
Graham Cluley's computer game Humbug contains a mint humbug.
The Little Humbugs- part human part bug these little people from the forest are sent by Mother Nature to teach the human world that they need to start looking after the the environment. The creations are from Marghanita Hughes childrens author Illustrator.[1].
The phrase "bah, humbug!" Was often used by Dickens' grandfather.
References
Black, Max. "The Prevalence of Humbug" from The Prevalence of Humbug and Other Essays. Cornell University Press. 1983.
Harry Frankfurt, Princeton University "On Bullsh*t", 1986, essay
See also
P. T. Barnum (described as the "Prince of Humbugs").
Humbug, a one-time villain/hero in the Marvel Comics.
http://www.answers.com/humbug
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