Proverbial

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It means appearing in a proverb. This is typically said when there is a specific proverb that is associated with that thing, rather than a generic thing. So, for example, saying "I'm buttered like the proverbial parsnip" would not really work. --Angoel

I think it is if you have a proverb of the form "As X as Y (which everyone knows is very X)." and you are referring to Y in the context of X. So "As cunning as a fox" and "as drunk as a Lord" do not let you assert "as cunning as the proverbial Lord". --DR

: Uh, what? The use of proverbial would be to say "As cunning as the proverbial fox" as Angoel was saying. I have no idea what DR attempts to mean. Though as possible partial disproof, I offer up the sense of "As drunk as a fox" which has no prior apparent meaning, but still seems to work. --Vitenka

Also used as a euphemism - "a good day is when the proverbial hits the fan and I have time to duck". - CS