John Henry
nounEtymology Believed to be a Western United States cowboy variation (dating from the late 1700s or early 1800s) of John Hancock, the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence and whose name later became a synonym for a signature. This usage predates the American folklore hero John Henry from the 1870s.
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Idiomatic One's signature.
- They stepped forward. Bury held a pen at them. “So if you fellows will just put your John Henrys on this document, it's all legal.” The two privates signed it.1986, L. Ron Hubbard, Villainy Victorious: Mission Earth:
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Arts, Folklore, History, Human sciences, Literature, Media, Publishing, Sciences A character from American folklore.
- Derived terms
- John Henryism
- Related terms
- John Hancock