Richard Snary

noun

A dictionary.

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Meanings

nounRichard Snary (plural Richard Snaries)

plural Richard Snaries

  1. archaichumorousslangA dictionary.

    Talke not to me of Dick snary, nor Richard-snary; I care not how little I come neare them.

    1627, William Hawkins, Apollo Shroving, Composed for the Schollars of the Free-schoole of Hadleigh in Suffolke
    2 more examples

    A country lad, having been reproved for calling persons by their Christian names, being sent by his master to borrow a dictionary, thought to show his breeding by asking for a Richard Snary.

    1796, Francis Grose, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

    I still didn’t see anything in it but the meaningless sort of humor that used to make richardsnary the thieves’ word for dictionary.

    1929, Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest

Origin

A pun involving the name Dick (short for Richard) and the Early Modern English pronunciation of dictionary as /ˈdɪksnæːrɪ/, /ˈdɪksnɛːrɪ/ (see dixnary, dixery).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Richard Snary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Richard%20Snary

MLA

“Richard Snary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Richard%20Snary. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Richard Snary,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Richard%20Snary.

Source: Richard Snary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.