Yankee Doodle
Preserved but no longer current.
The quasi national air of the United States, the doggerel words of which are said to have been written by Dr. Shuck- burgh, a surgeon in Lord Amherst's army during the French and Indian war of 1755.
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 “Yankee Doodle” mean?
The quasi national air of the United States, the doggerel words of which are said to have been written by Dr. Shuck- burgh, a surgeon in Lord Amherst's army during the French and Indian war of 1755.
Is “Yankee Doodle” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.