Meanings
- UKcolloquialdatedidiomaticProperly, correctly and reliably; in accordance with proper procedure and established rules.
A man rode at an Arab who fired and missed him, and then seized his spear, with the apparent intention of meeting him as an infantry soldier should, according to Cocker.
1885, Lewis Hough, “Touch and Go!”, in For Fortune and Glory2 more examples
“Well, so you ought to be, according to Cocker, spending all your time in sick rooms.” “According to who?” “According to Cocker.” “Who is Cocker?” “Oh, I don't know; some old fellow who wrote the rules of arithmetic, I believe; it's only a bit of slang.[…]”
1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “A Crisis”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 2nd, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 140It seems that a certain constable whose beat included Dorchester Square was going his round rather late one evening when he noticed a hansom cab drawn up about the middle of the south side of the square. There was no sign of the driver, and no one minding the horse; and as this was not quite according to Cocker, it naturally attracted his attention.
1931, R[ichard] Austin Freeman, “Of a Hansom Cab and a Black Eagle”, in Pontifex, Son And Thorndyke
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
UK circa 1760. Eponymous of Edward Cocker (1631–1676), teacher and author of the popular mathematics textbook known as Cocker's Arithmetick (1678).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
according to Cocker. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/according%20to%20Cocker
“according to Cocker.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/according%20to%20Cocker. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “according to Cocker,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/according%20to%20Cocker.
Source: according to Cocker on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.