Jeremy Diddler Explained

Jeremy Diddler is a fictional character in James Kenney's 1803 farce Raising the Wind, based on an amusing importunist named Bibb, or “half-crown Bibb”.^[1]

A needy artful swindler, Diddler became a stock character in farce; the word “diddle” may be derived from him, or vice versa, and was a very common expression in the 19th and early 20th centuries.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Diddler is discussed in some detail in Herman Melville's The Confidence Man: His Masquerade. He appears in Thomas Haynes Bayly's novel David Dumps (chapter XV).

Notes and References

1. News: The Original Jeremy Diddler . . New South Wales, Australia . XIV . 1081 . 17 August 1872 . 4 . 3 September 2021 . National Library of Australia.
2. News: Jeremy Diddler . . Victoria, Australia . IX . 197 . 18 August 1864 . 3 . 4 September 2021 . National Library of Australia.
3. News: A Jeremy Diddler . . 532 . Victoria, Australia . 15 November 1879 . 4 September 2021 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
4. News: A Jeremy Diddler . . Tasmania, Australia . XLIX . 149 . 24 June 1889 . 3 . 4 September 2021 . National Library of Australia.