a fat and pursy man
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Shakespeare has "pursy insolence," the insolence of Jesunin, "who waxed fat and kicked." In Hamlet we have "the fatness of these pursy times" — i.e. wanton or self-indulgent times.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a fat and pursy man” mean?
Shakespeare has "pursy insolence," the insolence of Jesunin, "who waxed fat and kicked." In Hamlet we have "the fatness of these pursy times" — i.e. wanton or self-indulgent times.
Is “a fat and pursy man” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.