Adantless

[jiho]

Hi all,
Here i am again, with another early 19th puzzle.
«Edward is such a perfect Adantless in his best livery that he is quite a sight»

Context: London 1839. Edward is the new butler.

What must a butler do to be «Adantless»?

 

[Anglika]

"Adonis" is most likely the word meant here.

It is used to say a man looks particularly beautiful or handsome: "He is a veritable Adonis".

 

[jiho]

"Adonis" is most likely the word meant here.

It is used to say a man looks particularly beautiful or handsome: "He is a veritable Adonis".

Thanks Anglika. It is perfectly clear.
Is the use of this word kind of aged or something? I haven´t found any reference to it anywhere...

That meaning of Adonis is exactly the same in Spanish. The difficulty for me was its relation with Adantless.

Thanks again

 

[Anglika]

It is a phrase you might hear from educated people. It is not what I would call in general use.

"Adantless" means nothing to me, unless it was deliberately written to be what is known as a "malapropism" - wrong use of one word instead of another word because they sound similar to each other

 

[jiho]

I see.

In fact I had the following doubt from the context:
Adantless could mean he looked pretty good or pretty bad, as you can also be «quite a sight» if your clothes do not fit you well.
The point i did not guess is that of yours of "malapropism", and you sound absolutely reasonable. Both words, Adantless and Adonis could be pronounced in a very similar way.
I sometimes forget, as an English learner, that native English writers or speakers can also make 'little' mistakes. Of course mine are much greater, .