Colin Clout
Preserved but no longer current.
A name which Spenser assumes in The Shepherd's Calendar, and in the pastoral entitled Colin Cloufs Come Home Again, which represents his return from a visit to Sir Walter Raleigh, "the Shepherd of the Ocean.'* Skelton had previously (about 1520) used the name as the title of a satire directed against the abuses of the Church ; he says :— And if ye stande in doute Who brought this ryme aboute, My name is Colyn Qoute.
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 “Colin Clout” mean?
A name which Spenser assumes in The Shepherd's Calendar, and in the pastoral entitled Colin Cloufs Come Home Again, which represents his return from a visit to Sir Walter Raleigh, "the Shepherd of the Ocean.'* Skelton had previously (about 1520) used the name as the title of a satire directed against the abuses of the Church ; he says :— And if ye stande in doute Who brought this ryme aboute, My name is Colyn Qoute.
Is “Colin Clout” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.