barrow boy
(UK, slang, derogatory, by extension) A financial industry worker from a working class or lower middle class family background.
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Born ~1939 · 1 year of recorded useDefinitions
(UK, slang, derogatory, by extension) A financial industry worker from a working class or lower middle class family background.
...at a London magistrate's court a young coster — a barrow boy — was summoned before me for selling rhubarb without a licence.
“Does this cover belong at the Renaissance Faire? The Decemberists music seem like a perfect fit for a bard to play. Eli, The Barrow Boy is a tragic story and a beautiful song. Should I add this song to my set list? #renaissance #renfaire #cover #acoustic #music”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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(UK, dated) A boy or man who sells goods, especially fruits or vegetables, from a barrow; a costermonger.
I pointed out to him that it was impossible for him to do that ... barrow boys to take him back to Manchester.
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Semantically related
- barra boy68%
(Geordie) A man who works on market stalls.
- Barry boy67%
(slang, British) A man denoted by his taste for loud clothing and flashy cars.
- city boy67%
(British) A man who works in the financial sector (often capitalised).
- barra boy67%
Geordie (Newcastle/Northeast England) dialect for a man who works a market stall — a market trader who pushes or tends a barrow (stall). In the Northeast's strong outdoor market culture, barra boys were a fixture of city centres and market towns, shouting out their wares with characteristic patter and banter. The term carries warm, working-class associations with street commerce, hustle, and the lively social atmosphere of British markets. It can also be used nostalgically to describe a certain type of straight-talking, entrepreneurial working man.