bartholomew doll
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A tawdry, over-dressed woman; like one of the flashy, bespangled dolls offered for sale at Bartholomew Fair.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “bartholomew doll” mean?
A tawdry, over-dressed woman; like one of the flashy, bespangled dolls offered for sale at Bartholomew Fair.
Is “bartholomew doll” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.