pigs in the parlour

noun

An allegory for a backward rural society.

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Meanings

nounpigs in the parlour pl (plural only)
  1. IrelandUKpluralplural onlyAn allegory for a backward rural society.

    Before 1968, what little coverage there was of Irish affairs was of the traditional 'pigs in the parlour' kind.

    1986, Yonah Alexander, Alan O'Day, Ireland's terrorist dilemma, page 111
Cite this entry
APA

pigs in the parlour. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pigs%20in%20the%20parlour

MLA

“pigs in the parlour.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pigs%20in%20the%20parlour. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pigs in the parlour,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pigs%20in%20the%20parlour.

Source: pigs in the parlour on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.