cock of the walk
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The dominant bully or master spirit. The place where barndoor fowls are fed is the walk, and if there is more than one cock, they will fight for the supremacy of this domain.
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 “cock of the walk” mean?
The dominant bully or master spirit. The place where barndoor fowls are fed is the walk, and if there is more than one cock, they will fight for the supremacy of this domain.
Is “cock of the walk” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.