What means "proverbial ride"

Question

proverbial ride = ?

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Anon, we absolutely need context to make sense of this.

We speak of "the proverbial X" to mean "that thing spoken of a great deal." But without context, I just don't know what yours means.

Anonymous · Answer

Its from Bid Lebowski: Bunny is abducted and ransom demanded from her hasbend, the father of Maude. Maude thinks Bunny kiddnaped herself:

00:46:57,982 --> 00:47:01,918
I asked my father about
his withdrawal of $1 million
from the foundation account,

898
00:47:01,919 --> 00:47:03,820
and he told me
about this abduction,

899
00:47:03,821 --> 00:47:05,555
but I tell you
it is preposterous.

900
00:47:05,556 --> 00:47:09,526
This compulsive fornicator
is taking my father for
the proverbial ride.

Delmobile · Answer

When I read the first post I guessed it would be the ride from "taken for a ride."

Let me try to explain: "take for a ride" is, of course, an idiomatic expression meaning to trick or cheat someone. "This fornicator is taking my father for a ride" would mean the same thing, but "the proverbial ride" emphasizes the idea that the speaker is using an idiom and, in a way, makes the statement stronger. They're not just taking him for a ride, it's the proverbial ride, the kind of ride that created the "proverb" in the first place.

Here's another example:
Did you close the deal for the warehouse sale?
Oh man, we about killed ourselves with that warehouse proposal. I mean, we went the proverbial distance. We gave them fifteen sets of plans, took them on a facilities tour, fed them lunch. And then they ended up going with our competitor.

Anonymous · Answer

Greate explanation, thanks.

What means "proverbial ride"

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