copper captain
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A "Brummagem," or sham, captain; a man who "swanks about" with the title but has no right to it. Michael Perez is so called in Rule a Wife and have a Wife, by Beaumont and Fletcher.
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 “copper captain” mean?
A "Brummagem," or sham, captain; a man who "swanks about" with the title but has no right to it. Michael Perez is so called in Rule a Wife and have a Wife, by Beaumont and Fletcher.
Is “copper captain” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.