barney

[bahr-nee] /ˈbɑr ni/
noun, plural barneys.
1.
Informal.
  1. an argument.
  2. a prizefight.
  3. a fight or brawl.
  4. a blunder or mistake.
2.
a small locomotive used in mining and logging.
3.
Movie Slang. a heavily padded cover for a camera, used to reduce the camera noise so that it will not be picked up by the sound-recording equipment.
Origin
1860-65; perhaps special uses of Barney

Barney

[bahr-nee] /ˈbɑr ni/
noun
1.
a male given name, form of Bernard.

Oldfield

[ohld-feeld] /ˈoʊldˌfild/
noun
1.
Berna Eli
[bur-nuh] /ˈbɜr nə/ (Show IPA), ("Barney") 1878–1946, U.S. racing-car driver.
British Dictionary definitions for barney

barney

/ˈbɑːnɪ/
noun
1.
a noisy argument
verb (intransitive)
2.
(mainly Austral & NZ) to argue or quarrel
Word Origin
C19: of unknown origin

Oldfield

/ˈəʊldˌfiːld/
noun
1.
Bruce. born 1950, British fashion designer
Word Origin and History for barney
n.

1859, British slang, "lark, spree, rough enjoyment," of uncertain origin. Later also "a fixed prize-fight."

Slang definitions & phrases for barney

barney

noun
  1. A prizefight or race whose outcome has been prearranged; a fixed fight or race: looked like a barney, as if there were some collusion (mid-1800s+)
  2. A despised person; nerd

[1980s+ college students; second sense fr the name of a character in the TV show The Flintstones]


barney in Technology


In Commonwealth hackish, "barney" is to fred as bar is to foo. That is, people who commonly use "fred" as their first metasyntactic variable will often use "barney" second. The reference is, of course, to Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the Flintstones cartoons.
[Jargon File]
(1994-11-28)