Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—G

Green Man

This public-house sign represents the gamekeeper, who used at one time to be dressed in green.

But the `Green Man' shall I pass by unsung,
Which mine own James upon his sign-post hung?
His sign, his image— for he once was seen
A squire's attendant, clad in keeper's green.

Crabbe: Borough.

The men who let off fireworks were called Green-men in the reign of James I.

“Have you any squibs, any green-man in your shows?” —The Seven Champions of Christondom.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Green Room
Green Linnets
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