barney

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A male given name:
2. (countable, uncountable)A male given name:
3. (countable, uncountable)A male given name:
4. (countable, uncountable)A surname:
5. (countable, uncountable)A surname:
6. (countable, uncountable)A surname:
7. (countable, uncountable)A placename:
8. (countable, uncountable)A placename:
9. (countable, uncountable)A placename:
10. (countable, uncountable)A placename:
11. (countable, uncountable)A placename:

noun

1. (UK, obsolete, slang)A lark, a romp, some fun.
2. (UK, obsolete, slang)A hoax, a humbug, something that is not genuine, a rigged or unfair sporting contest.

   “"Just keep it i' thy mind," entreated the other, as a sort of parting remembrance, "ut I won thee i' fair powell—one toss an' no barney.[…]"”

   “Blackguardly barneys called boxing competitions.”

   “Who would believe that Mr. Gladstone shammed being ill, and that Sir Andrew Clark issued false bulletins, and that the whole thing was a barney from beginning to end.”

3. (obsolete)A poor recitation.
4. (Australia, UK, slang)A noisy argument.

   “Gary and Mum went mental, and Gary phoned them up and had a right Barney with them.”

   “‘They had a right barney,’ Dexter said with glee, between mouthfuls. ‘Bloke wouldn′t go. Said he′d write to his MP.’”

   “‘[…]I bet there was a right barney over her wearing a dress that exposed the rose tattoo!’ Turner concluded with a laugh.”

5. (Australia, UK, slang)A minor physical fight.

   “I got stuck in the middle of a real barney between a couple of tough coppers and a handful of hairy protesters, and I didn't enjoy it one single bit.”

   “But he doesn't seem to be so — so angry all the time, and it's ages since he and Aunt Annie had a real barney, with flying fists and screechings, that sort of thing.”

   “‘I heard this crash, like the door was being kicked in, and then a load of shoutin′ an′ crashin′ about, like someone was havin' a real barney.’”

6. (Boston, US, dialectal)A student at Harvard University.

   “There goes that fuckin' Barney right now, with his fuckin' "skiin' trip." We should'a kicked that dude's ass.”

7. Synonym of blimp (“soundproof cover for a video camera”).

   “You can create your own blimp or barney with anything that will deaden the camera noise, such as a changing bag, foam rubber, […]”

8. (US, pejorative, slang)A police officer, usually one who is inferior or overzealous.

   “She called the town Mayberry. She said Barney Fife was in charge.”

adj

1. (UK, obsolete, slang)insane crazy, loony.

verb

1. (obsolete)To recite badly; to fail.

   “What avails it to make a shine in Greek if the next hour one does a barney in calculus.”

2. (Australia, UK)To argue, to quarrel.