Billy Barlow
Preserved but no longer current.
A street droll, a merry- andrew; so called from a half-idiot of the name,, who fancied himself some great person- age. He was well known in the East of Lon- don in the early half of last century, and died in Whitechapel workhouse. Some of his sayings were really witty, and some of his attitudes really droll.
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 “Billy Barlow” mean?
A street droll, a merry- andrew; so called from a half-idiot of the name,, who fancied himself some great person- age. He was well known in the East of Lon- don in the early half of last century, and died in Whitechapel workhouse. Some of his sayings were really witty, and some of his attitudes really droll.
Is “Billy Barlow” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.