John Barleycorn

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John Barleycorn

Where it comes from

John (commonly used to personify a concept) + barleycorn; barley is used to produce malt, the source of most British alcoholic drink.

proper noun

A personification of alcoholic drink made from barley, particularly beer and whisky. Blazing face: redhot. Too much John Barleycorn. Cure for a red nose.

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MLA

"John Barleycorn." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/john%20barleycorn. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

John Barleycorn. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/john%20barleycorn

Chicago

"John Barleycorn." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/john%20barleycorn.

BibTeX

@misc{john_barleycorn_2026,
  title = {John Barleycorn},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/john%20barleycorn},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}