Brandy Nan
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Queen Anne who was very fond of brandy. On her statue in St. Paul's Churchyard a wit once wrote : — Brandy Nan, Brandy Nan, left in the lurch, Her face to the gin-shop, her back to the church.
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 “Brandy Nan” mean?
Queen Anne who was very fond of brandy. On her statue in St. Paul's Churchyard a wit once wrote : — Brandy Nan, Brandy Nan, left in the lurch, Her face to the gin-shop, her back to the church.
Is “Brandy Nan” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.