Costermongery
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The fruits and vegetables sold by a costermonger.
"France, after all, takes the attention first, in spite of the splendid and praiseworthy costermongery of the Crystal Palace."
- 2 The business of a costermonger; the process of selling frutis and vegetables from a cart or barrow.
"So he now rode like all possessed through the wares of fish and costermongery in the Naples market, making everything fly about as in a whirlwind; cackling and curses followed his course, angry fists were clenched at him."
- 1 Like a costermonger: especially, rough, poor, or loud.
"They may not be as bold and chivalrous as the shaggy Newfoundland, as lithe and crescenty as that shivering exile the Italian greyhound, as droll and muffy as the Isle of Skye, as sturdy and sagacious as the Spanish pointer, as vivacious and hearty as the smooth terrier, or as dogged a dog as the bulldog, that most costermongery and bloodthirsty of “our four-footed favourites,” as Mr. Woodstock, the popular lecturer, would call it."
Example
More examples"France, after all, takes the attention first, in spite of the splendid and praiseworthy costermongery of the Crystal Palace."
Etymology
From costermonger + -y.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.