# Who is a 'John-a-Nokes'?

'John-a-Nokes' is an old English name for a simpleton, used as a stock name in legal cases and comic tales. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), human-proofread transcription on English Wikisource records: “[or Noakes (1 syl.)] A simpleton. "John-a-Nokes was driving a cart toward Croydon, and by the way fell asleepe therein. Meane time a good fellow came by and stole away his two horses. [John] awakening and missing them, said, 'Either I am John-a-Nokes or I am not John-a-Nokes. If I am John-a-Nokes, then I have lost two horses; and if I am not John-a-Nokes, then I have found a cart.'"— Copley: Wits, Fits, and Fancies (1614).”

## What it means

- Verbatim from Brewer's (1898): [or Noakes (1 syl.)] A simpleton. "John-a-Nokes was driving a cart toward Croydon, and by the way fell asleepe therein. Meane time a good fellow came by and stole away his two horses. [John] awakening and missing them, said, 'Either I am John-a-Nokes or I am not John-a-Nokes. If I am John-a-Nokes, then I have lost two horses; and if I am not John-a-Nokes, then I have found a cart.'"— Copley: Wits, Fits, and Fancies (1614).

## Action steps

1. Modern usage: 'John-a-Nokes' is an old English name for a simpleton, used as a stock name in legal cases and comic tales.
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-Nokes)

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