flannelled fool

flannelled fool

One who plays the sport of cricket. Taken from the white flannel trousers cricketers wear. Primarily heard in UK. Every afternoon you can see us flannelled fools gathered in the park for a spot of cricket.
See also: fool
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • chip
  • chips
  • up on (one's) ear
  • wear rose-colored glasses
  • get on up
  • one of the boys
  • one of the lads
  • Two Bob
  • lad
  • be one of the boys
References in periodicals archive
I tend to be with Kipling with regard to the flannelled fool at the wicket and the muddied oaf at the goal most of the time, although often liking the hard working individuals concerned.
Message that made it all worthwhile; Opinion
But then I am sure any true flannelled fool would assure me that that's not cricket.
Macdonald on Monday
Worsley's Flannelled Fool, and Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals, are personal favorites as well.
Two 'berds in the hand
Given the recent revelations regarding Geoffrey Boycott and Paul Gascoigne, you can see just who Kipling had in mind when he coined his phrase about "the flannelled fool at the wicket, the muddied oaf at the goal".
Poet's punchline on shamed stars
The unspoken bond between flannelled fools the world over has plenty of potential for a group like Opening Up.
Cricketers urged to Open Up for health
Tracing the evolution of cricket in SL the crack about 'sarong Johnnies' are not being tolerated in a Colombo club went down uproariously with the 'flannelled fools' of the MCC.
Lalin's Column: Sanga -Brilliant strokes and some referrals
10 Questions from the Quiz 1) Which sport was Kipling referring to when he called the players "flannelled fools"?
PUB? QUIZ?
Sajid Kabir Khan, an ex-English county player and a friend of Imran Khan now spending his 24th year in Oman, said Twenty20 has given a new edge to cricket, initially a five-day affair involving ''22 flannelled fools''.
Twenty20 cricket in future Olympics?
24 Which poet famously wrote of sportsmen in his vehement work The Islanders as "the flannelled fools at the wicket or the muddied oafs at the goals"?
BREAKTIME: Fifty for Fun
GOD protect us from flannelled fools. What kind of half-wit can consider calling off a cricket tour because a few scribblers are banned from covering it, but couldn't give a monkey's when asked to walk away because of torture, murder, intimidation, kidnapping and starvation.
STOTTY ON SUNDAY: The fools in flannels
SOMEONE once called sportsmen "flannelled fools" and, as controversy rages over whether England cricketers should go to Zimbabwe, you have to wonder.
Sue Carroll Column: IT'S OUT, NASSER