Johnny-one-note

English

Alternative forms

• Johnny one note, Johnny one-note, Johnny One-note, Johnny One Note

Etymology

Derives from the show tune Johnny One Note, from the Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms (1937), in which the lyrics tell a story of a male vocalist named Johnny who sang with a band and could sing only one note, but sang that note extremely well.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

Johnny-one-note (plural Johnny-one-notes)

1. (idiomatic, chiefly Canada, US) A person (or organization) who often expresses a strong opinion or viewpoint on a single subject or a few particular subjects.
2. (idiomatic, chiefly Canada, US) An opinion or viewpoint on a single subject or a few particular subjects which is frequently expressed by a person or organization.
   • 1945 July 9, “The Press: Confessions of a Grouch”, in Time‎^[1], volume 46, number 1, archived from the original on 2013-08-06:

     Whether his boss (Hearst) had told him to get off his Johnny-one-note of hate toward labor leaders, foreigners and New Dealers, or whether Pegler had decided all by himself to change his tune, no one knew.

See also

• one-note
• Johnny-on-the-spot