haberdasher of pronouns
A wonderfully archaic British slang term for a schoolmaster or grammar teacher — someone who pedantically deals out parts of speech like a shopkeeper sells small goods.
Definitions
A wonderfully archaic British slang term for a schoolmaster or grammar teacher — someone who pedantically deals out parts of speech like a shopkeeper sells small goods. The joke is in the comparison: a haberdasher sells buttons, ribbons, and thread (trivial small items), and a schoolmaster peddles pronouns, conjunctions, and other grammatical bits. It's witty, old-fashioned, and perfectly captures the slightly contemptuous view of grammar teachers as petty tradespeople of language.
The boys dreaded afternoons with Old Blackwell — that haberdasher of pronouns who could spot a dangling modifier from fifty paces.
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(obsolete, _, slang) schoolmaster.
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- haberdasher75%
(US) A men's outfitter.
- haberdasher74%
A dealer in ribbons, buttons, thread, needles and similar sewing goods.
- haberdasher74%
(British) A member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, a livery company.
- barber's clerk55%
(obsolete, slang, derogatory) An overdressed shopboy who affects the airs and graces of a gentleman.