pant a gruel ism

[From Pant a gruel, one of the characters of Rabelais; Eng. suff. -ism.] 1. A burlesque term for the profe ion of medicine. 2. (See extract.) "By Pant a gruel ism we mean. an a umption of Bacchanalian buffoonery to cover some serious purpose." -Donald son: Theater of the Greeks, p. 77.