haberdasher of pronouns

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English[edit]

Noun[edit]

haberdasher of pronouns (plural haberdashers of pronouns)

  1. (obsolete slang) schoolmaster
    • 1828, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XVI, in Pelham; or, The Adventures of a Gentleman. [], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, [], →OCLC, page 104:
      When I first went to Paris, I took a French master, to perfect me in the Parisian pronunciation. This “Haberdasher of Pronouns” was a person of the name of Margot.

Further reading[edit]