What does it mean to be a "Lion in Winter", and where does the term come from?

Question

I've heard this said as a reference to former Presidents and leaders, but what does it mean exactly? I looked the term up and only came across a movie starring Peter O'Toole.

Answer 1

LION IN WINTER -- "A proud, prominent, strong man whose great strength and dignity have been eroded by age and adversity. The quintessential example is England's King Henry II, portrayed in James Goldman's play 'The Lion in Winter, made into a successful film starring Peter O'Toole as Henry and Katherine Hepburn as Queen Eleanor...The title of the play combines the image of the British royal lion with the winter of old age and adversity -- and the cold drafts of a medieval castle in December..." From "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions" by Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., 1999).

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