Daft Jimmy

Posted by Graham Cambray on March 04, 2009 at 14:52

In Reply to: Daft Jimmy posted by Graham Cambray on March 04, 2009 at 14:15:

: : What is the origin of 'worse than the murder of daft Jimmy'?

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: A very limited contribution - it may be Scottish in origin. At [Dead link removed - ed]
: one Joan Green recalls the old phrase:
: "Whit a commoshum. It wiz wurse thin the murdir o' daft Jimmy."
: (GC)

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A possible origin for this phrase might have been the murder of James Wilson by Burke and Hare. A children's entertainer, he appears to have been known in his day as "Daft Jamie" rather than "Daft Jimmy", however. This is a suggestion and nothing more. (GC)

• Daft Jimmy Victoria S Dennis 04/March/09