John Henry

American  

noun

plural

John Henries

1. Informal. a person's signature.

2. U.S. Folklore. a legendary Black man of exceptional strength and stamina.

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Henry, John ¹ Cultural  

1. A hero of American folktales and folk songs. The stories portray him as a black man, enormously strong, who worked on railroads or on steamboats and died from exhaustion after he outperformed a steam drill in a contest.

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“John Henry” ² Cultural  

1. An American folksong (see folk music) about the “steel-driving man” John Henry. It contains these lines:

   John Henry said to his captain,

   “A man ain't nothin' but a man,

   And before I'd let your steam drill beat me down,

   I'd die with the hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord!

   I'd die with the hammer in my hand.”

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Etymology

Origin of John Henry

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; from the proper name

Related Words

• impression
• imprint
• line
• point
• record
• scar
• score
• signature
• spot
• stain
• stamp
• streak
• symbol