411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Paul Pry
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Etymology
Name of the interfering protagonist in John Poole (playwright) John Poole's 1825 comic play of the same name; alliterative, from en pry.
Noun
? Paul Pry
A nosy person.
en 1841 Sir Thomas Charles Morgan; Lady Morgan (Sydney) The Book Without a Name 1 83 This self-gratulation is very natural; but it is not very just. The desire of knowledge is innate in human nature. We are all born more or less of a Paul Pry, and inherit a good dash of the temperament of "our general mother".
en 1920 Agatha Christie Agatha Christie The Mysterious Affair at Styles Pan Books London 1954 131 “Lot of Paul Prys,” grunted Miss Howard.
en eponyms