Troy Town
Preserved but no longer current.
A Cornish expression for a labyrinth of streets, a regular maze. In several novels "Q" (Sir A. Quiller Couch) used the name as a disguise for Fowey. Troy was formerly used figuratively of any scene of disorder or confusion; a room with its disorder or confusion; a room with its furni- ture all higgledy-piggledy, for instance, would be called a Troy fair.
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 “Troy Town” mean?
A Cornish expression for a labyrinth of streets, a regular maze. In several novels "Q" (Sir A. Quiller Couch) used the name as a disguise for Fowey. Troy was formerly used figuratively of any scene of disorder or confusion; a room with its disorder or confusion; a room with its furni- ture all higgledy-piggledy, for instance, would be called a Troy fair.
Is “Troy Town” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.