simon pure
Preserved but no longer current.
"the real SIMON PURE," the genuine article. Those who have witnessed Mr. Charles Mathews’s performance in Mrs. Centlivre’s admirable comedy of A Bold Stroke for a Wife, and the laughable coolness with which he, the false SIMON PURE, assuming the Quaker dress and character of the real one, elbows that worthy out of his expected entertainment, will at once perceive the origin of this phrase.—See act v. scene i.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “simon pure” mean?
"the real SIMON PURE," the genuine article. Those who have witnessed Mr. Charles Mathews’s performance in Mrs. Centlivre’s admirable comedy of A Bold Stroke for a Wife, and the laughable coolness with which he, the false SIMON PURE, assuming the Quaker dress and character of the real one, elbows that worthy out of his expected entertainment, will at once perceive the origin of this phrase.—See act v. scene i.
Is “simon pure” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.