Merry Andrew

merryandrew merry-andrew English Alternative forms en merry andrew merry-andrew merryandrew Etymology Originally associated with a specific act at Bartholomew Fair; later said to have come from the name of Andrew Boorde. Pronunciation en En-au-Merry Andrew.ogg AU Noun en idiomatic A person who clowns publicly; a buffoon; an entertainer's assistant. en 1749 w:Henry Fielding Tom Jones 438 Folio Society 1973 Instead, therefore, of answering my landlady, the puppet-show man ran out to punish his Merry-Andrew [...] en 1873 William Lucas Collins Plautus and Terence III 31 The games of the circus—the wild-beast fight and the gladiators, the rope-dancers, the merry-andrews, and the posture-masters,—were more to their taste than clever intrigue and brilliant dialogue. en 1974 w:Lawrence Durrell Monsieur 155 Faber & Faber 1992 One of them, the eldest, was a sort of merry andrew and was not above dressing the part with a weird cap of jackal's skin with many hanging tails and tassels. Translations person who clowns publicly clown en Comedy People en eponyms