A.Word.A.Day --Darby and Joan

A.Word.A.Day

Home

Aug 7, 2009

This week's theme
Eponymous pairs

This week's words
Alphonse and Gaston
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Jekyll and Hyde
Mutt and Jeff
Darby and Joan

Darby and Joan

A postcard painting

(Artist unknown; photo: Aida Yared)

This week's comments
AWADmail 371

Next week's theme
Short words

Give a gift that ...
keeps on giving,
all year long:
A gift subscription of AWAD

Discuss

Feedback

RSS/XML

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Darby and Joan

PRONUNCIATION:

(DAHR-bee uhn joan)

MEANING:

noun: A devoted old couple leading a quiet, uneventful life.

ETYMOLOGY:

After a couple named in an 18th century poem in The Gentleman's Magazine (London).

NOTES:

In 1735 Henry Woodfall, a printer's apprentice, wrote a ballad titled "The joys of love never forgot: a song" about a happily married elderly couple. His inspiration for those characters was his own boss John Darby and his wife Joan:

"Old Darby, with Joan by his side,
You've often regarded with wonder:
He's dropsical, she is sore-eyed,
Yet they're never happy asunder ..."

As you can imagine, he wrote this poem after Darby's death. This poem in turn became an inspiration for follow-up poems and eventually Darby and Joan became a metaphor. In the UK, clubs for old people are still called Darby and Joan clubs.

USAGE:

"On the shores of holy Lake Manosarovar there is a nameless hotel run by a very elderly couple, a sort of Tibetan Darby and Joan."
Karen Swenson; At Tibetan Hotels, Don't Expect the Light To Be Left On; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Dec 4, 2001.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

It is good to rub and polish your mind against that of others. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise