3 uses
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Definition
a person who is uninterested in artistic and intellectual pursuits and values
- In fact, placed before the strict and piercing truth, this whole story will fare like that fish, flesh, and fowl idol of the Philistines, Dagon by name; who being planted before the ark of Israel, his horse's head and both the palms of his hands fell off from him, and only the stump or fishy part of him remained.Chapters 82-84 — The Honour and Glory of Whaling; Jonah Historically Regarded; Pitchpoling (23% in)
- "Do tell, now," cried Bildad, "is this Philistine a regular member of Deacon Deuteronomy's meeting?Chapters 16-18 — The Ship; The Ramadan; His Mark (88% in)
- But ploughed up to the primary rock of the matter, the two great principles laid down in the twin whaling laws previously quoted, and applied and elucidated by Lord Ellenborough in the above cited case; these two laws touching Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish, I say, will, on reflection, be found the fundamentals of all human jurisprudence; for notwithstanding its complicated tracery of sculpture, the Temple of the Law, like the Temple of the Philistines, has but two props to stand on.Chapters 88-90 — Schools and Schoolmasters; Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish; Heads or Tails (62% in)
There are no more uses of "philistine" in Moby Dick.
Typical Usage
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