Tooley Street tailor
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Sense 1
A self-important, vainglorious person.
Register: archaic, slang
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Sense 2
a self-conceited, vainglorious man. The "three tailors of Tooley Street" are said to have immortalized themselves by preparing a petition for Parliament—and some say, presenting it—with only their own signatures thereto, which commenced, "We, the people of England."
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 “Tooley Street tailor” mean?
A self-important, vainglorious person.
Is “Tooley Street tailor” formal or informal?
Tooley Street tailor is generally archaic, slang.