Who was, according to a letter by Tobias Smollet to John Wilkes, "the Great Cham" of English literature, and what did he mean by that qualification?

axkman

Dr Samuel Johnson, the great English lexicographer. The Cham was the sovereign prince of Tartary, a word that has since been changed to "Khan". Mar 23 07, 8:30 PM

queproblema

http://www.geocities.com/sschaeff/SamuelJohnsonintroductorypage.htm Mar 23 07, 9:26 PM

Flem-ish

Cham = Khan as in Kublai Khan? Mar 25 07, 9:07 PM

queproblema

Yes. http://dict.die.net/cham/ It's just an exaggerated compliment Smollett was giving Johnson, as if Frankie were to call Flem-ish the Shah of Iran or the President of the United States. ;-) He meant Johnson was a master writer who probably made scarce but telling use of the word "nice." Mar 25 07, 9:17 PM

Flem-ish

Hm...neither is any of my ambitions. Anything related to the Grand-Duchy of Flanders would be big enough already.Being a simple citizen of either Antwerp, Ghent or Bruges is privilege enough. Mar 26 07, 1:42 AM