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.
The following is an amusing anecdote of the difficulty in which an honest Vicar of Bray found himself in those contentious times.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 2 by Disraeli, Isaac
And this is law, that I'll maintain, Until my dying day, sir, That whatsoever King shall reign, I'll be the Vicar of Bray, sir.
From English Songs and Ballads by Crosland, T. W. H. (Thomas William Hodgson)
The Vicar of Bray was not a scold.
From From the Easy Chair, series 2 by Curtis, George William
The addition we have suggested might be sanctioned, under the plea that the Vicar of Bray would then have a representative.
From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various
Like a lacertine Vicar of Bray, he varies incontinently from buff to blue, and from blue back to orange again, under stress of circumstances.
From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Allen, Grant
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.
