absent-minded professor

absent-minded professor
a) A stereotypical fictional character whose focus on academic matters leads them to ignore or forget their surroundings.

An absent-minded professor, in going out of the gateway of his college, ran against a cow. In the confusion of the moment, he raised his hat, and exclaimed: " I beg your pardon, Madam." Soon after, he stumbled against a lady in the street. In sudden recollection of his former mishap, he called out: "Is that you again, you brute?"

b) A person who tends to be oblivious to reality.

Although the absent-minded professor has appeared frequently in American humor it is safe to assert that the dire extremity of the learned man in the tragedy of A Defective Memory could hardly have been reached outside of Germany.


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  • Absent-minded professor — The absent minded professor is a stock character of popular fiction usually portrayed as an academic with important information, but whose focus on their learning leads him to ignore or forget his surroundings.The stereotype is very old; a story… …   Wikipedia

  • The Absent-Minded Professor — For the stock character, see absent minded professor. Infobox Film name = The Absent Minded Professor director = Robert Stevenson producer = Bill Walsh writer = Samuel W. Taylor Bill Walsh starring = Fred MacMurray Nancy Olson music = George… …   Wikipedia

  • The Absent-Minded Professor — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel: Der fliegende Pauker Originaltitel: The Absent Minded Professor Produktionsland: USA Erscheinungsjahr: 1960 Länge: 95 Minuten Originalsprache …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • absent-minded — or absentminded [ab′sənt mīn′did, ab′səntmīn΄did] adj. 1. so dreamy or lost in thought as not to pay attention to what one is doing or what is going on around one 2. habitually forgetful absent mindedly adv. absent mindedness n. SYN. ABSENT… …   English World dictionary

  • absent-minded — adj. habitually forgetful or inattentive; with one s mind on other things. Derivatives: absent mindedly adv. absent mindedness n. * * * absent mindedly, adv. absent mindedness, n. /ab seuhnt muyn did/, adj. so lost in thought that one does not… …   Useful english dictionary

  • absent-minded — I (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. abstracted, preoccupied, lost in thought, forgetful, distracted, dreamy, inattentive, lost, unmindful, absent, unheeding, heedless, oblivious, distrait, daydreaming, napping, unconscious, unaware, inadvertent, withdrawn …   English dictionary for students

  • absent-minded — adj. Absent minded is used with these nouns: ↑professor …   Collocations dictionary

  • The Absent-Minded Professor —    Voir Monte là d ssus …   Dictionnaire mondial des Films

  • Professor Calculus — (Professeur Tournesol) Publication information Publisher Casterman (Belgium) …   Wikipedia

  • Absent-mindedness — can refer to three very different things: # a low level of attention ( blanking or “zoning out”); # intense attention to a single object of focus (hyperfocus) that makes us oblivious to events around us; or # unwarranted distraction of attention… …   Wikipedia

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