bunburyist means one who partakes in Bunburying.
Why “bunburyist” is a great word
A person who systematically invents a fictitious person or engagement as a polite pretext to escape unwanted social duties. From Bunbury (the name of a fictitious invalid character) + -ist (agent suffix), coined by Oscar Wilde in his 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest. Unlike a 'liar,' who may tell any falsehood, or a 'truant,' who simply shirks without artistry, the Bunburyist is a social architect of absence, constructing an entire phantom life to preserve civility. It is the imaginary sickly friend in the country requiring urgent attention, the fabricated prior engagement of impeccable dullness, the essential alibi that hums with invented obligation—a quiet luxury of a lie so elegant it becomes a second self.
Etymology
From Bunbury + -ist, coined by Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) after Bunbury, the fictitious disabled friend of the character Algernon whose supposed illness is used as an excuse to avoid social engagements.
noun
- One who partakes in Bunburying.“I may mention that I have always suspected you of being a confirmed and secret Bunburyist; and I am quite sure of it now.”
Words closest in meaning
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