This is what I see as the thesis of Cooperâs book, an idea he traces across continents and through four centuries, from Mathew Lewisâs Gothic novel The Monk (1796) to James Wanâs âtorture pornâ film Saw (2004).
The definition of proverbial is something well-known or commonly referred to. When someone always uses the same old excuse, over and over again until it becomes old news, this is an example of that person's proverbial excuse. 1  of, or having the nature of, a proverb.  expressed in a proverb.
Dictionaries - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Proverb. Proverb. a trite maxim; a similitude; a parable. The Hebrew word thus rendered (mashal) has a wide signification. It comes from a root meaning to be like, parable.. Rendered proverb in Isaiah 14:4 ; Habakkuk 2:6 ; dark saying in Psalms 49:4 , Numbers 12:8 .