Barney
Informal.
an argument.
a prizefight.
a fight or brawl.
a blunder or mistake.
a small locomotive used in mining and logging.
Movie Slang. a heavily padded cover for a camera, used to reduce the camera noise so that it will not be picked up by the sound-recording equipment.
a male given name, form of Bernard.
Berna Eli
[bur-nuh] /ˈbɜr nə/ (Show IPA), (“Barney”) 1878–1946, U.S. racing-car driver.
Contemporary Examples
barney supported excluding transgender people from [the Employee Non-Discrimination Act].
A Meandering Gay March Jacob Bernstein October 11, 2009
His current fans know him as the womanizing barney Stinson on the CBS sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother.’
Neil Patrick Harris Hosts the Tonys Kevin Sessums June 9, 2011
Just ask Shirley Sherrod (or barney Frank, for that matter).
Weiner’s Dangerous Resignation Eric Alterman June 15, 2011
And what Tim Geithner and what barney Frank might like to pass.
Fitting In at Fox Lloyd Grove December 5, 2009
barney Frank makes the bankers an offer they can—and will—refuse.
CEO Smackdown! The Daily Beast Video February 10, 2009
Historical Examples
Hampton, barney, and Neb Dumlow were the only men who sailed with us again.
Sail Ho! George Manville Fenn
“It’s barney Black and his wife,” he answered, in a whisper.
Cap’n Dan’s Daughter Joseph C. Lincoln
barney, after all, was to gain everything from what he had to tell him, and Lydia was to lose; how much was Lydia to lose?
Adrienne Toner Anne Douglas Sedgwick
I caught a glimpse of him at the club, that time when I went there with barney—Godfreys!
Cap’n Dan’s Daughter Joseph C. Lincoln
This task he reserved for himself and barney, with the assistance of Mboyo and Samba.
Samba Herbert Strang
noun
a noisy argument
verb (intransitive)
(mainly Austral & NZ) to argue or quarrel
noun
Bruce. born 1950, British fashion designer
n.
1859, British slang, “lark, spree, rough enjoyment,” of uncertain origin. Later also “a fixed prize-fight.”
noun
A prizefight or race whose outcome has been prearranged; a fixed fight or race: looked like a barney, as if there were some collusion (mid-1800s+)
A despised person; nerd
[1980s+ college students; second sense fr the name of a character in the TV show The Flintstones]
In Commonwealth hackish, “barney” is to fred as bar is to foo. That is, people who commonly use “fred” as their first metasyntactic variable will often use “barney” second. The reference is, of course, to Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the Flintstones cartoons.
[Jargon File]
(1994-11-28)
Read Also:
- Barning
a building for storing hay, grain, etc., and often for housing livestock. a very large garage for buses, trucks, etc.; carbarn. to store (hay, grain, etc.) in a barn. noun a large farm outbuilding, used chiefly for storing hay, grain, etc, but also for housing livestock (US & Canadian) a large shed for sheltering railroad […]
- Barnlike
a building for storing hay, grain, etc., and often for housing livestock. a very large garage for buses, trucks, etc.; carbarn. to store (hay, grain, etc.) in a barn. Historical Examples Arrived at the barnlike station, the porters—two Bhootea women, carried our luggage up to Woodland’s Hotel. Forty Thousand Miles Over Land and Water Lady […]
- Barnlot
barnyard.
- Barnstormer
to conduct a campaign or speaking tour in rural areas by making brief stops in many small towns. Theater. to tour small towns to stage theatrical performances. (of a pilot) to give exhibitions of stunt flying, participate in airplane races, etc., in the course of touring country towns and rural areas. (of a professional athletic […]
- Barnstorming
to conduct a campaign or speaking tour in rural areas by making brief stops in many small towns. Theater. to tour small towns to stage theatrical performances. (of a pilot) to give exhibitions of stunt flying, participate in airplane races, etc., in the course of touring country towns and rural areas. (of a professional athletic […]