tarzan
part of speech
noun (Tarzan — a name; a Tarzan — informal)
meaning for a pupil
1) (a name) Tarzan is a made-up character created by the American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs in the novel "Tarzan of the Apes" (1912): a boy raised by apes in the African jungle who grows up very strong and swings through the trees on vines. Disney made a cartoon film of him in 1999. tree →
2) (informal) A Tarzan is a very strong, muscly man, often said as a joke. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and films Tarzan is famous for his loud yell and swinging on vines; his friend is Jane. In everyday talk people jokingly call someone "Tarzan" when they show off their strength or swing on a rope. Today some people point out that the old books show Africa and Africans in an unfair way. Phrases: "Tarzan yell", "Tarzan swing", "Me Tarzan, you Jane" (a famous film joke, not in the book).
examples
- Tarzan swung through the jungle on long vines. tree →
- My brother did a Tarzan yell from the climbing frame. tree →
- In the story, Tarzan is raised by apes. tree →
- Disney's "Tarzan" has songs by Phil Collins. tree →
- "Okay, Tarzan, put the sofa down," laughed Mum. tree →
- We tied a Tarzan swing to the big oak tree. tree →
- Tarzan and Jane meet in the jungle. tree →
note
A name, so it is written with a capital T. It is a fictional character, not a real person. A "Tarzan swing" or "rope swing" is a rope tied to a branch.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «tarzan» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.