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Micawber principle

Micawber principle noun: the claim that something good will turn up, especially when used to justify optimism.

Noun

Micawber principle (plural Micawber principles)

  1. The claim that something good will turn up, especially when used to justify optimism.
    • Acting on the Micawber principle of always expecting 'something to turn up,' he is ever on the watch, and the way that at times 'he gets to a catch' is wonderful.1863 Dec, “Mr. E. M. Grace”, in Baily's magazine of sports and pastimes, page 208
    • Now, the Colonial Treasurer proposes to deal with that deficit very much in the same way that private individuals deal with inconvenient liabilities—that is to say, by having recourse to paper, on the Micawber principle, with a "Thank God, that's done with!"1887 November 9, Parliamentary Debates: New Zealand. Parliament. House of Representatives, page 282
  2. The claim that financial surplus is success and debt is failure.
    • The Micawber principle is clearly basically an aspect of the crude growth maximisation approach. The underlying idea is that underfulfilment, even by a fraction, should be perceived as something essentially shameful.1985, David A. Dyker, The Future of the Soviet Economic Planning System, Croom Helm
    • The Micawber principle—it is not the level of income and outgo but their relationship that matters—is essential to budgeting.1992, Jack Rabin, Handbook of Public Budgeting, CRC Press, page 57

Examples of Micawber principle in a sentence

  • The Micawber Principle was weaker down here than up in the capital.1977 April, Avram Davidson, “Manatee Gal Ain't You Coming Out Tonight”, in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction:
  • The Micawber Principle has value as financial advice, but as a historical argument it is deeply mistaken.2012, Frank Trentmann, The Oxford Handbook of the History of Consumption, OUP, page 35:

Forms of Micawber principle

pluralMicawber principles

Origin of Micawber principle

From the Dickens character Wilkins Micawber, noted for his inability to work his way out of poverty. Two of his enunciations have become elevated to "principles": * "Something will turn up." * "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery."

Questions about Micawber principle

What does Micawber principle mean?
Micawber principle means the claim that something good will turn up, especially when used to justify optimism.
How do you use Micawber principle in a sentence?
The Micawber Principle was weaker down here than up in the capital.
What part of speech is Micawber principle?
Micawber principle is a noun.
What is the plural of Micawber principle?
The plural of Micawber principle is Micawber principles.

Words near Micawber principle in the dictionary

  1. micartas
  2. micas
  3. micaschist
  4. micathermic
  5. micawber
  6. Micawber principle
  7. Micawber principles
  8. Micawber threshold
  9. Micawbered
  10. Micawberesque
  11. Micawbering

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Micawber principle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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