Word.ws English Dictionary

gnome of Zürich

gnome of Zürich noun: a Swiss banker.

Noun

gnome of Zürich (plural gnomes of Zürich)

  1. (derogatory, humorous) A Swiss banker.
    • When the pound was under attack, Mr. Brown said it was “the Gnomes of Zurich” who were out to bust it.1968 June 24, Adam Smith, “My Friend the Gnome of Zurich Says Don't Look Over Your Shoulder, A Major Money Crisis Is Gaining on You”, in New York Magazine, volume 1, number 12, page 17

Forms of gnome of Zürich

pluralgnomes of Zürich
alternative formgnome of Zurich

Origin of gnome of Zürich

Popularized by Labour politician George Brown during the sterling crisis of 1964.

Questions about gnome of Zürich

What does gnome of Zürich mean?
Gnome of Zürich means a Swiss banker.
What part of speech is gnome of Zürich?
Gnome of Zürich is a noun.
What is the plural of gnome of Zürich?
The plural of gnome of Zürich is gnomes of Zürich.

Words near gnome of Zürich in the dictionary

  1. gnolls
  2. gnomae
  3. gnomai
  4. gnome
  5. gnome of Zurich
  6. gnome of Zürich
  7. gnome owl
  8. gnome owls
  9. gnome plant
  10. gnome plants
  11. gnome sayin

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gnome of Zürich (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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