Word.ws English Dictionary

barrow-boy

barrow-boy is the alternative form of barrow boy.

Meaning of barrow boy

Noun

barrow boy (plural barrow boys)

  1. (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.1939, John Worby, Spiv's Progress, page 72
  2. (UK, broadly, derogatory, slang) A financial industry worker from a working class or lower middle class family background.
    • The "barrow boy" commodities trader may well have no aspirations to old-style middle class tastes.1992, Leslie Budd, Sam Whimster, Global Finance and Urban Living, page 326

Forms of barrow-boy

pluralbarrow-boys

Questions about barrow-boy

What is barrow-boy the alternative form of?
Barrow-boy is the alternative form of barrow boy.

Words near barrow-boy in the dictionary

  1. Barrow upon Humber
  2. Barrow upon Soar
  3. Barrow upon Trent
  4. Barrow's goldeneye
  5. Barrow's goldeneyes
  6. barrow-boy
  7. barrow-boys
  8. barrow-hog
  9. Barrow-in-Furness
  10. barrow-pig
  11. barrow-way

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: barrow-boy (page history and authors); barrow boy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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