darby and joan, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

darby and joan n.

[rhy. sl.; the phr. Darby and Joan, a synon. for an elderly, poss. impoverished, long-married couple, first appeared in the Gentleman’s Magazine (V, 1735) in a verse titled ‘The joys of love never forgot, a song’. The third verse runs: ‘Old Darby, with Joan by his side,/You’ve often regarded with wonder,/He’s dropsical, she is sore-eyed,/Yet they’re never happy asunder.’ Whether the names refer to real-life characters (Darby is not a common UK name) or are taken from some earlier fiction remains unknown]

1. the telephone.

1969		S.T. Kendall Up the Frog.
1992		R. Puxley Cockney Rabbit.
2002		B. Kirkpatrick Wicked Cockney Rhy. Sl.

2. (Aus.) a loan.

2002

Pete’s Aussie Sl. Home Page 🌐 Darby and Joan: a loan.