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Lion in winter

Posted by ESC on May 19, 2005

In Reply to: Lion in winter posted by Abe on May 19, 2005

: "...lion in winter" shows up hear an there as if it is supposed to mean something - most recently in a review of a book on Teddy Roosevelt.

: I know it is a title to a book and a DVD but don't understand what the phrase means.

LION IN WINTER -- "A proud, prominent, strong man whose great strength and dignity have been eroded by age and adversity. The quintessential example is England's King Henry II, portrayed in James Goldman's play 'The Lion in Winter, made into a successful film starring Peter O'Toole as Henry and Katherine Hepburn as Queen Eleanor...The title of the play combines the image of the British royal lion with the winter of old age and adversity -- and the cold drafts of a medieval castle in December..." From "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions" by Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., 1999).

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