a
reference to a
philosophy of
life as displayed by the
character Mr. Wilkins Micawber, from the well-known nineteenthcentury
novel David Copperfield by
English author Charles
Dickens (1812- 1870). The
novel portrays the story of a young
man, David Copperfield, who, by using his skills and
hard work, leaves the lower middle
class and becomes a famous writer. Micawber, a friend of Copperfield's, comes up with many ideas to bring about wealth, and although his
endeavors fail, he never gives up and remains certain something will "
turn up." The
phrase thus came to
refer to someone who is expectant that
luck will
change or good fortune will arrive without much
effort of their own.