John Tamson's man

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

A henpecked husband; one ordered here, there, and everywhere. Tamson — Le. spiritless, a Tame-son.

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 “John Tamson's man” mean?

A henpecked husband; one ordered here, there, and everywhere. Tamson — Le. spiritless, a Tame-son.

Is “John Tamson's man” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.