Darby and Joan

English Etymology John Darby and his wife Joan were first mentioned in print in a poem published in The Gentleman's Magazine by Henry Woodfall in 1735. Noun p A proverbial married couple content to share a quiet life of mutual devotion. en 19 November 1904 Jerome Klapka Jerome The Passing of the Third Floor Back Saturday Evening Post "[…] he told me that he and your mother, when they travel together, are always mistaken for a honeymoon couple. Some of the experiences he related to me were really quite amusing." The stranger laughed at recollection of them—"that even here in this place, they are generally referred to as 'Darby and Joan.'" en 1937 w:Dorothy L. Sayers Busman's Honeymoon The house where the Batesons had lived—a dear old couple, a pleasantly tottering, Darby and Joan pair, always ready to welcome little Miss Vane and give her strawberries and seedy-cake. en coordinated pairs eponyms