Who is a 'John-a-Dreams'?
A 'John-a-Dreams' is a stupid, dreamy fellow — always in a brown study and half asleep; used by Shakespeare in Hamlet. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), human-proofread transcription on English Wikisource records: “A stupid, dreamy fellow, always in a brown study and half asleep. " Yet I, A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, And can say nothing." Shakespeare: Hamlet , ii. 2.”
Origin
- Verbatim from Brewer's (1898): A stupid, dreamy fellow, always in a brown study and half asleep. " Yet I, A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, And can say nothing." Shakespeare: Hamlet , ii. 2.
How to use it
- Modern usage: A 'John-a-Dreams' is a stupid, dreamy fellow — always in a brown study and half asleep; used by Shakespeare in Hamlet.
- When quoting the origin, cite Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — this is a 19th-century record, not a modern etymology.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.