A teacher might say it of a test, if a student suddenly improved their performance after receiving poor marks. In a sense, the test result was the catalyst that sparked off a reaction in the student, stirring them into action!
Best Answer: Yeah, The Big Lebowski - one of my all time favorites. It basically means he is an easy going fellow and is pretty content to go along with whatever is happening. The main character, of course, is nicknamed The Dude. The verb abide has a number of meanings. The Dude: Yeah, well. The Dude abides.
The word may have derived from the Scottish term for clothes, duddies. The term dude was first used in print in 1876, in Putnam's Magazine, to mock how a woman was dressed (as a dud/dude). The use of the word dudde for clothing in English goes as far back as 1567. The term âdudeâ may also have derived from the 18th Century word âdoodleâ as in âYankee Doodle Dandyâ.