Aunt Sally


nounChiefly British.
  1. a person who is a ready target for criticism or focus for disputation.

Origin of Aunt Sally

1
First recorded in 1860–65; so called from the figure used as a target at fairs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Aunt Sally in a sentence

  • "Well, Aunt Sally is the wisest woman in the world," replied Mrs. Bassett, with emphasis.

    A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
  • They're the best kind of pals, and of course Aunt Sally and the old professor were friends all their lives.

    A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
  • She always called him Morton, and she was Aunt Sally to him as to many hundreds of her fellow citizens.

    A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
  • Aunt Sally laughed, an amused, throaty little chuckle at this, and then the worried frown came back.

    The Dragon's Secret | Augusta Huiell Seaman
  • Highly flattered, Aunt Sally rose to lead the girls indoors to the sunny room where she kept her plants.

    The Dragon's Secret | Augusta Huiell Seaman

British Dictionary definitions for Aunt Sally

Aunt Sally

/ (ˈsælɪ) /


nounplural -lies British
  1. a figure of an old woman's head, typically with a clay pipe, used in fairgrounds and fêtes as a target for balls or other objects

  2. any person who is a target for insults or criticism

  1. something set up as a target for disagreement or attack

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012