Merry Andrew

Definition

A person who clowns publicly; a buffoon; an entertainer's assistant.

Etymology

Originally associated with a specific act at Bartholomew Fair; later said to have come from the name of Andrew Boorde.

Example Sentences

• "Instead, therefore, of answering my landlady, the puppet-show man ran out to punish his Merry-Andrew [...]"
• "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."
• "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."