John Barleycorn
- noun
- Literature
:
John Barleycorn
- He finally gave up John Barleycorn after years of heavy drinking.
Examples
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Many poets have written about John Barleycorn and his seductive power over people.
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Many songs celebrate John Barleycorn as a symbol of drink.
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The tale tells of John Barleycorn tempting travelers in the dead of night.
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In literature, John Barleycorn often represents the spirit of alcohol.
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Many stories highlight John Barleycorn's role in celebrations and gatherings, representing the joy of drinking.
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In folk songs, John Barleycorn is personified as a figure that embodies the effects of alcohol on people's lives.
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Throughout literature, John Barleycorn symbolizes the strong spirits that bring both joy and sorrow to drinkers.
Synonyms
342
3.2
A strong alcoholic drink made by distilling, like whiskey or vodka
282
2.8
A drink with alcohol that people make from grain and leave in wooden barrels to age
259
7.6
Alcohol that people have at parties or with friends
104
1.2
A clear alcoholic drink flavored with juniper berries and other plants
102
4.6
A whisky made in Scotland
8
3.9
An alcoholic drink stronger than beer or wine, like whiskey and vodka
6
3.1
An alcoholic drink from Ireland made from barley and aged to taste smooth
3
3.4
An alcoholic drink that is distilled, like whisky or vodka
1
4.0
A type of whiskey made mainly from malted barley, often produced in Scotland in pot stills
1
3.6
A strong drink from Scotland made from malted barley and aged in wooden barrels
1
3.6
A strong alcoholic drink like whiskey or vodka
1
3.0
Strong alcoholic drinks like whiskey, vodka, or gin
A strong drink made in Scotland from malted barley and aged in wooden casks
Surface Forms
Morphology
John + Barleycorn
The name 'John Barleycorn' is a literary personification and a culturally specific label for alcoholic spirits; a B1 learner who knows 'John' (a name) and the separate words for grains would not reliably infer this idiomatic, symbolic meaning. Because it operates as a proper-name idiom with historical and cultural background rather than a compositional phrase, the sense is not predictable from the constituents and would be opaque to most learners.
Etymology
John Barleycorn comes from an old folk song that turns a grain into a man: the seed barley is shown as John, who is cut, crushed and brewed into beer or whisky. That's why John Barleycorn became a name for 'strong alcoholic spirits' today.