Vicar of Bray
Britishnoun
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a vicar (Simon Aleyn) appointed to the parish of Bray in Berkshire during Henry VIII's reign who changed his faith to Catholic when Mary I was on the throne and back to Protestant when Elizabeth I succeeded and so retained his living
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Also called: In Good King Charles's Golden Days. a ballad in which the vicar's changes of faith are transposed to the Stuart period
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a person who changes his or her views or allegiances in accordance with what is suitable at the time
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It cannot be proved that he was not a Vicar of Bray, the title which at once suggests itself.
From The Life and Times of John Wilkins Warden of Wadham college, Oxford; master of Trinity college, Cambridge; and Bishop of Chester by Wright Henderson, P. A. (Patrick Arkley)
This was probably the tenor of the sermons of the Vicar of Bray, and this was the way that he strove to save souls.
From From the Easy Chair, series 2 by Curtis, George William
"The Vicar of Bray" is set to a tune originally known as "A Country Garden."
From The Pleasures of Life by Lubbock, John, Sir
Now this Ziffa was the only daughter of Hadji Baba, the Court story-teller, who, like the Vicar of Bray, managed to remain in office, no matter who should come into or go out of power.
From The Pirate City An Algerine Tale by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
Sang as I shaved the Vicar of Bray.
From The Willoughby Captains by Reed, Talbot Baines
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
