Honest John

American  

noun

1. Informal.

   1. an honest, sincere man.

   2. a man so trusting and innocent that he may be easily cheated or deceived.

2. a surface-to-surface, single-stage U.S. artillery rocket.

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Etymology

Origin of Honest John

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The way I got Def Jam is I was friends with a comic named Honest John, who was on BET's "ComicView."

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2023

That differs from the unconvincing digital form that organic creatures like Jiminy, Honest John, a bipedal fox; or Geppetto’s cat Figaro assume through 21st century technology.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2022

His opponent was a white northerner called, ironically, Honest John Patterson.

From Slate • Jan. 31, 2018

Much of the digital innovation is coming from independent publishers – examples include Faber's poetry apps, Constable and Robinson's Honest John web business, Profile's Frankenstein, Bloomsbury's Berg library.

From The Guardian • Jan. 7, 2013

But if old Honest John hadn’t sold all his stock while he was advising my father to hold on─” “He did not!”

From Shadow Mountain by Coolidge, Dane