Rip Van Lazy Winkle Eslpod Energetic American Man

One character in American literature is famous for his "laziness" (lack of energy and motivation, not wanting to do anything): Rip Van Winkle. American author Washington Irving wrote a short story called Rip Van Winkle about a man "of the same name" (with the same name as the title of the book) who was very lazy.

Rip Van Winkle lived in a "village" (small town) where everyone liked him, except his wife. She "nagged" (repeatedly ask someone to do something) him all the time. He was a "henpecked husband" (a man who is treated badly by his demanding wife). One day, to get away from the nagging, he walked into the mountains. He met some "ghosts" (the spirits of people who have died) and they offered him some "liquor" (alcohol). When he drank it, he fell asleep. When he woke up, he walked back to the village, but then found out that twenty years had "gone by" (passed). His wife had "passed away" (died) and his friends had died or left the village. One person, his daughter, recognizes him and he spends the rest of his life with her, "as lazy as ever" (as lazy as he has always been). Other henpecked husbands in the village wish they could be as lucky as Rip Van Winkle and find a way to "be free of" (not have) a nagging wife.

Sometimes Americans use the phrase "to be a Rip Van Winkle" to describe someone who suddenly wakes up and discovers that things have changed a lot. For example, someone who spends 80 hours working each week might be a Rip Van Winkle if he suddenly realizes that his children are almost fully grown and he hardly knows them because he has spent so much time away from them.