johnny

noun — 9 senses

johnny

nounalso spelled Johnny

UK /ˈd͡ʒɒn.i/ · US /ˈd͡ʒɑn.i/

Etymology Alternative letter-case form of Johnny, diminutive of John.

1

Ireland, UK, Slang A condom.

2

New Zealand, Derogatory An inexperienced new worker, usually an immigrant.

  • Willie Cox said they found him in the barn, shot bang through the head, and the young English johnny who'd been on the station learning farming - disappeared.1913, Katherine Mansfield, Millie:
3

New England A hospital gown: a gown with a back opening closed with snaps or ties, worn by hospital patients.

  • His hand shook. A little water spilled down the front of the hospital johnny Sean wore.1991, Stephen King, Needful Things:
4

US, Dated, Slang Synonym of john: a toilet, lavatory, outhouse, or chamber pot.

  • The women's toilet (as distinguished from the ladies' room in a speakeasy, the johnny at school, the little girls' room at a party in an apartment, and the wash-my-hands on a train) was clean enough.1935, John O'Hara, BUtterfield 8, Ch. ix, page 279
  • Kitty Hofman came in the johnny.1935, John O'Hara, chapter IV, in Appointment in Samarra, page 98:
5

Ireland, Archaic, Slang A half-glass of whisky.

  • [H]e declared, like a real Irishman, that 'if he were a living man when he died, he would not give a single johnny of whisky either at his wake or his funeral.'1867, William Dool Killen, Memoir of John Edgar, page 108:
Synonyms
condom, toilet, bathroom, and Thesaurus:chamber pot
Derived terms
johnny bag, johnnycake, johnny house, rubber johnny
Related terms
John Thomas

Johnny

noun

Etymology From John + -y. In the sense of an Englishman, compare John Bull.

1

Slang A jack (playing card).

2

Abbreviation, Ellipsis, Informal Ellipsis of Johnny Reb (“Confederate soldier in the American Civil War”).

3

Slang An Englishman.

4

Slang A fellow, a man.

  • We met in the desert, and we headed 'em off, and the other Johnnies herded 'em behind.1897, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Tragedy of the Korosko:
  • "Like the Persian Johnny," said Jimmy, "who went about wailing for fresh worlds to conquer."1929, Agatha Christie, The Seven Dials Mystery:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for johnny and Johnny.