Evil May Day
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The name given to the senous rioting made on May 1st, 1517, by the London apprentices, who fell on the
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 “Evil May Day” mean?
The name given to the senous rioting made on May 1st, 1517, by the London apprentices, who fell on the
Is “Evil May Day” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.