Idiom
merry Andrew
Meaning
A person who clowns publicly; a buffoon; an entertainer's assistant.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The Merry Andrew juggled balls in the town square.”
“The circus needed a Merry Andrew to warm up the crowd before the main act started.”
“Though once a respected actor, he had fallen so low that he now played Merry Andrew to a second-rate magician, capering about in motley for pennies.”
Examples
simple
“The Merry Andrew juggled balls in the town square.”
contextual
“The circus needed a Merry Andrew to warm up the crowd before the main act started.”
complex
“Though once a respected actor, he had fallen so low that he now played Merry Andrew to a second-rate magician, capering about in motley for pennies.”
Origin
Originally associated with a specific act at Bartholomew Fair; later said to have come from the name of Andrew Boorde.
Key words
Related idioms
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