Paul Pry

English

Etymology

Name of the interfering protagonist in John Poole's 1825 comic play of the same name; alliterative, from pry.

Noun

Paul Pry

  1. A nosy person.
    • 1841, Sir Thomas Charles Morgan, Lady Morgan (Sydney), The Book Without a Name, volume 1, page 83:
      This self-gratulation is very natural; but it is not very just. The desire of knowledge is innate in human nature. We are all born more or less of a Paul Pry, and inherit a good dash of the temperament of "our general mother".
    • 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 131:
      “Lot of Paul Prys,” grunted Miss Howard.
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