
PRONUNCIATION:(TAP-lee-i-zuhm)

MEANING:noun: Extreme optimism, even under most hopeless circumstances.
ETYMOLOGY:After Mark Tapley, a character in Charles Dickens’s Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-44). Earliest documented use: 1857.
NOTES:The mission of Mark Tapley is to remain “jolly” under all circumstances. It is tested when he accompanies his boss Martin Chuzzlewit on a trip to America and comes down with malaria while living in a swamp. When asked how he’s doing, he responds: “Floored for the present, sir, but jolly!”