India Company
Preserved but no longer current.
It is said that "John" is a perversion of "Hon."; no doubt Hon., like Hans, may be equal to John, but probably "John Company*' is allied to the familiar "John Bull.
Có thể là biến thể của 'Hon', tương tự như Hans, có thể рав với John
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
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 “India Company” mean?
It is said that "John" is a perversion of "Hon."; no doubt Hon., like Hans, may be equal to John, but probably "John Company*' is allied to the familiar "John Bull.
Is “India Company” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.