Johnny Foreigner

English

Etymology

UK late-20th century. The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang says "first recorded in 1990 but in use earlier".^[1] From John or Johnny as a personified idea. Compare Johnny Canuck (“Canadian”), Johnny Crapaud (“Frenchman”), Johnny Reb (“Confederate American”).

Proper noun

Johnny Foreigner

(UK, informal, derogatory) Foreigners collectively; people who are not British.
- 1983, Richard Ingrams, John Wells, Private Eye - Issues 550-575‎^[1], page 70:
  No wonder Johnny Foreigner lays in supplies of the stale bread rolls whenever he appears over the horizon.
- 1984 December 3, John Torode, “Why must training for tomorrow be a dead turn-off?”, in The Guardian, page 18:
  Mr. King's message was that Johnny Foreigner does it better than us. In Germany, in Japan and in the United States, these bottlenecks just do not happen.
- 1999, James Chapman, Licence to thrill: a cultural history of the James Bond films:
  A time when Johnny Foreigner knew his place. A time when beautiful women from other countries existed primarily to be seduced...
- 2004, Charles Godfrey-Faussett, Footprint England:
  ...the constant threat of spontaneous outbreaks of singing on Centre Court by pop has-beens and the occasional ungentlemanly antics of Johnny Foreigner...

Synonyms

alien, outlander, peregrine; see also Thesaurus:foreigner

References

^ Ayto, John, Simpson, John (2010) Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 150

[1] Ayto, John, Simpson, John (2010) Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 150

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