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John Barleycorn

American  

noun

  1. a personification of barley as used in malt liquor, of malt liquor itself, or of any intoxicating liquor.

John Barleycorn British  

noun

  1. humorous the personification of alcohol, esp of malt spirits

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of John Barleycorn

First recorded in 1610–20

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.