# 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.”

## What it means

- 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.

## Action steps

1. Modern usage: A 'John-a-Dreams' is a stupid, dreamy fellow — always in a brown study and half asleep; used by Shakespeare in Hamlet.
2. When quoting the origin, cite Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — this is a 19th-century record, not a modern etymology.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Wikisource proofread text](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Brewer%27s_Dictionary_of_Phrase_and_Fable/John-a-Dreams)

---
Canonical: https://bestidiomanswers.com/answers/john-a-dreams
Author: Best Idiom Answers — https://bestidiomanswers.com
Publisher: Best Idiom Answers
Published: 2026-07-18T14:09:18.640416+00:00
Modified: 2026-07-18T14:34:10.39672+00:00
Last verified: 2026-07-18
License: Citation License 1.0 — https://bestexpertanswers.com/license
© Adolicious LLC