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starting the sentence he did not know how the sentence was to end. His initial words were always a part of an emotional catchphrase. For instance: "Gad, Sir! Mr
Lansbury is right. The League of Nations should insist on peace — except of course in the case of war.", or: "Gad, Sir! Lord Bunk is right. The government is marching over the edge of an abyss, and the nation must march solidly behind them." Blimp is usually depicted speaking to a cartoon version of David Low, the cartoon's creator, and Blimp's comments are not infrequently directed at the opinions of
280:(1943). Filmed during wartime, the movie portrayed the life of an admirable British officer named Clive Candy. The story encouraged the audience to accept that although the officer was honorable, with time his opinions had become outdated, and that winning a modern war required irregular means. The British film featured
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Blimp issues proclamations from the bath, wrapped in his towel and brandishing some mundane weapon to emphasize his passion on some issue of current affairs. Red-faced with rage and emotion, he often makes confused pronouncements. Blimp's phrasing often includes direct contradiction, as though upon
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opinions of the
British establishment of the 1930s and 1940s. The cartoon was intended to criticise attitudes of isolationism, impatience with the concerns of common people, and a lack of enthusiasm for democracy. These were attitudes which Low, a New Zealander, considered as being common in
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472:"It is when caricature is carried to the pitch and organization of a composition in oils, or a piece of sculpture, then the people begin to revolt. "I call it disgusting!" fumed the particular Colonel Blimp who passed me on the staircase at a
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as "an endearing moment, in which one glimpsed the warm and funny man that Amis used to be before he decided, some time in the 1960s, to turn himself into a literary
Colonel Blimp". In a 2006 book, historian
174:(i.e retired) colonel with his bull neck and diminutive brain". He added that they had been losing their vitality during the past thirty years, "writhing impotently under the changes that were happening".
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British politics. Although Low described his character Blimp as "a symbol of stupidity", he lessened the insult to the
British upper class by adding that "stupid people are quite nice".
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170:", Orwell referred to two important sub-sections of the middle class, one of which was the military and imperialistic middle class, nicknamed the Blimps, and characterised by the "
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made especially extensive use of the term "Blimps" to refer to this type of military officer, Orwell in his articles and
Wintringham in his books
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but whose conservatism and opposition to military reform were considered to have contributed to
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as an overconfident major of the
British army who commands the initial strike against the Martians of
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Wallace, David Foster (April 2001). "Tense
Present: Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage".
292:. The "Blimp" character was not actually called "Blimp" other than in the title, nor did he die.
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The
Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 2: My Country Right or Left
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The term "Blimp" continues to be referenced from time to time. In a 1994 article published in
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The Home Guard is (…) an astonishing phenomenon, a sort of People's Army officered by Blimps.
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phrase – very reactionary opinions are characterised as "Colonel Blimp" statements.
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Low claimed that he developed the character after overhearing two military men in a
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This article is about the cartoon character. For the Powell-Pressburger film, see
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has also used the term to describe people who were strongly hostile to
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213:(1724–1816), who distinguished himself as an officer in the
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Iron
Kingdom. The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947
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recalled a televised exchange between an elderly lady and
432:, Oxford Living Dictionaries. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
442:Orwell, George (15 April 1941). "London Letter".
274:wrote, produced, and directed the motion picture
16:British cartoon character by cartoonist David Low
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206:used the term "blimpish" to characterise the
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68:in April 1934. Blimp is pompous, irascible,
480:. London, Faber & Faber, 1951. (p.163)
231:referred to the "Colonel Blimp's rage" of
95:officers should be entitled to wear their
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144:The character has earned a legacy as a
350:"Century's 'best cartoonist' on show"
272:Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
245:The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
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572:Comics characters introduced in 1934
459:Orwell, Sonia and Angus, Ian (eds.)
103:. The character was named after the
517:, London: Penguin, 2006, pp. 124–25
277:The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
21:The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
50:is a British cartoon character by
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577:Fictional British Army officers
391:Crouch, Tom (5 February 2012).
348:Stone-Lee, Ollie (8 May 2002).
224:Garner's Modern American Usage
25:Colonel Blimp (disambiguation)
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397:National Air And Space Museum
76:British, identifiable by his
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503:. Vol. 41, no. 11.
500:The New York Review of Books
211:Field Marshal von Mollendorf
190:The New York Review of Books
89:Victorian-style Turkish bath
476:exhibition." Herbert Read,
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221:in 1806. In his review of
36:"Security by Col. Blimp" (
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592:Male characters in comics
562:British comics characters
242:The graphic novel series
168:The Lion and the Unicorn
107:, which was known as a
160:How to Reform the Army
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23:. For other uses, see
259:The War of the Worlds
166:. In his 1941 essay "
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557:British comic strips
416:'The new pictures'.
229:David Foster Wallace
513:Christopher Clark,
463:, (London, Penguin)
376:David Low biography
284:in the title role,
587:Gag cartoon comics
582:Fictional colonels
552:1934 comics debuts
495:"A Real Funny Guy"
478:The Meaning of Art
57:, first drawn for
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529:Harper's Magazine
307:Sir Bufton Tufton
235:journalists like
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400:. Retrieved
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178:Herbert Read
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164:People's War
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127:Blimp was a
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84:"Gad, Sir!"
82:interjection
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41: 1930s
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332:"David Low"
254:H. G. Wells
133:reactionary
546:Categories
402:7 December
318:References
182:modern art
70:jingoistic
52:cartoonist
270:In 1943,
115:Character
55:David Low
393:"Blimp!"
359:28 March
354:BBC News
296:See also
208:Prussian
172:half-pay
80:and the
474:Rouault
146:clichéd
131:on the
99:inside
93:cavalry
63:London
312:Gammon
288:, and
140:Legacy
129:satire
72:, and
430:blimp
109:blimp
101:tanks
97:spurs
418:Time
404:2023
361:2010
266:Film
162:and
154:and
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340:^
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