Definitions

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun king of Wessex and Kent and elder brother of Alfred; Alfred joined Ethelred's battle against the invading Danes and succeeded him on his death (died in 871)
  • noun king of the English who succeeded to the throne after his half-brother Edward the Martyr was murdered; he struggled unsuccessfully against the invading Danes (969-1016)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Soon enough Ethelred is tangled up in a real life mystery of his own as his ex-wife disappears (can you blame her?) and there follows a very entertaining and funny book as everything is untangled and revealed.

    The Herring Seller's Apprentice 2007

  • Soon enough Ethelred is tangled up in a real life mystery of his own as his ex-wife disappears (can you blame her?) and there follows a very entertaining and funny book as everything is untangled and revealed.

    The Herring Seller's Apprentice 2007

  • Soon enough Ethelred is tangled up in a real life mystery of his own as his ex-wife disappears (can you blame her?) and there follows a very entertaining and funny book as everything is untangled and revealed.

    48 entries from October 2007 2007

  • Gunnlaug had the sword Ethelred's-gift, and that was the best of weapons.

    The Story Of Gunnlaug The Worm-Tongue And Raven The Skald 1875 Anonymous 1865

  • He was known as Ethelred the Unready - not because of a lack of military preparation but because he was uncounselled or "unread".

    BBC News - Home 2010

  • I hold out the can to Ethelred the Cheap, a guy who's been banned from Ye Olde Friars Club for always deducting the assize from his bill before computing his tip.

    At the Juvenile Bubonic Plague Telethon Con Chapman 2012

  • Ethelred smiles a dung-eating grin, then removes a lousy French sou from his purse and drops it ceremoniously into my cup, as if he wants a freaking jousting field named after him for his piddling contribution.

    At the Juvenile Bubonic Plague Telethon Con Chapman 2012

  • Thanks, Tim, for the kind comments about the Herring Seller Ethelred and Elsie series.

    :Acquired Taste Tim Stretton 2010

  • Harlow's Robert Halfon called Labour's approach "more Ethelred the Unready than Nixon in China" ? one of the day's more enigmatic remarks.

    Sketch: What if the bankers were on benefits? Michael White 2010

  • My town, despite having been a centre for farmers and farming since just after Ethelred the Unready, has seen its show descend to an unsteady High Street parade of dodgy floats from offcumdens and the ghastly "carnival" run by the mafia and a Frank Warren wannabee (to judge by the number of fights).

    Show Sunday Peter Ashley 2008

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