Friar Tuck
Preserved but no longer current.
Chaplain and steward of Robin Hood. In this our spacious isle I think there is not one But he hath heard some talk of Hood and Little John; Of Tuck, the merry friar, which many a sermon made In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws, and their trade DRAYTON: Polyolbwn, xxvi, 311-16.
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 “Friar Tuck” mean?
Chaplain and steward of Robin Hood. In this our spacious isle I think there is not one But he hath heard some talk of Hood and Little John; Of Tuck, the merry friar, which many a sermon made In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws, and their trade DRAYTON: Polyolbwn, xxvi, 311-16.
Is “Friar Tuck” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.