long john

See also: Long John, Long-John, long-john, and longjohn

English

A vanilla-glazed long john (sense 1)

Alternative forms

• Long John

Noun

long john (plural long johns)

1. A bar-shaped, yeast-risen pastry like a doughnut either coated entirely with glaze or top-coated with cake icing.
   • 1962, Manitoba Trade Directory, page 114, column 1:

     DONUT HOUSE (B) — 496 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg 4. Glazed donuts busters, long johns, fried cinnamons, assorted whipped cream donuts, party snacks, bread, pastries.

   • 2001, Mary O’Connell, “Saint Dymphna”, in Living with Saints, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, →ISBN, page 4:

     Was it the effect of the bulletproof glaze on the windows, or had dusk really turned the sky a sheer, sugary violet? The air in the small office carried the smell of freshly glazed donuts from the discount bakery next door. When footage of protesters picketing the clinic played on the evening news, there was usually some slacker off to the side, leaning on his sign and eating a long john.

   • 2006, Baker H. Morrow, “The Luger”, in A Tropical Place Like that: Stories of Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 135:

     He drank more coffee in a paper cup and ate a long john covered in maple-sugar icing and dialed Marley in San Francisco.

   • 2008, Jack Smith, Hog to Hog, Huntsville, Tex.: Texas Review Press, →ISBN, pages 4, 5, 7, and 92:

     Two long johns, a Super Deluxe Big Guy coffee in a bright red Styrofoam cup with two creams, a pack of cigarettes, and two lottery tickets. […] In a couple minutes, he’s setting the red Super Deluxe Big Guy cup, filled with coffee (two creams, no sugar), down on the gray counter, with his two long johns, and he points behind her. He sits on the lot, stuffing down a long john, sipping coffee, thinking: […] Out in his truck, Bernie sits, eating long johns, […]

   • 2021, Chris Fabry, chapter 32, in Sarah Mason Rische, editor, A Piece of the Moon, Tyndale House Publishers, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 299:

     “I got coffee and donuts,” Waite said. “Bring The Kid in—he can sleep on my couch.” […] Clay ate a long john and fell asleep as soon as he hit the couch, rolled up on his side and facing the wall.

2. (used attributively as a modifier) Alternative form of long-john (“of or relating to long johns (the undergarment)”).
   • 1979, Harry Roberts, Movin’ Out: Equipment and Technique for Hikers, Washington, D.C.: Stone Wall Press, →ISBN, page 68:

     The bottom compartment of her big packbag contains a very light wool long john top (Norwegian-made, very soft), a tennis hat, underpants, and a polybag with sanitary napkins in it.

   • 1989, Ron Watters, Ski Camping: A Guide to the Delights of Backcountry Skiing, Great Rift Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, pages 41 and 50:

     Clothing - Inner Layer / Long john top and bottoms (wool or synthetic) […] Some undershirts or long john combinations are made of beautiful Angora wool, some are mixtures of synthetics and others of cotton.

   • 1994, Illinois Appellate Reports: Official Reports of the Illinois Appellate Court, volume 264, third series, page 129:

     And then when Mitch was found, he was dressed in a long john top, a tuxedo coat and shirt and a winter police type jacket and I want you to assume further that the car seats were light green but darker than the car.

   • 2000 March, Backpacker: The Magazine of Wilderness Travel, page 144:

     Base Layer / expedition-weight long john top / expedition-weight long john bottoms / midweight long john top / midweight long john bottoms

   • 2006, Flavio Rivera, “The Crossing”, in Escape Into America: A Novel, iUniverse, Inc., →ISBN, page 133:

     Also raise her long john leg part and pants up to her knee.

   • 2013, John Keeble, “The Killer”, in The Shadows of Owls: A Novel, Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, →ISBN, page 316:

     “Fast,” Winona said, deftly pulling out the long john bottoms from the pile that Kate was holding and letting them dangle to the floor. […] She pulled off her boots, stood and skinned out of her pants and pulled on the long john bottoms, and put her own pants back on and the rain trousers over the top of them. She wrestled out of her shirt, and put the long john top over her own torn one, the shirt back on, the blue sweater that smelled pungently of Winona.

Further reading

• Long John (doughnut) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia