English · Idiom Historical

Bono Johnny

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

John Bull is so called in the East Indies.

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.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “Bono Johnny” mean?

John Bull is so called in the East Indies.

Is “Bono Johnny” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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