Nosey parker

Posted by Gary Martin March 10, 2010 at 11:09In reply to Nosey parker posted by James Briggs on March 10, 2010 at 11:05:

I was surprised not to find the origin of the phrase "nosey parker" here. Does anyone know its etymology?

Nosey Parker: noun, mainly British. An inquisitive person. 1907 -. D. Craig All nosey parkers in this street (1974 ). [Said to have been applied originally as a nickname to a man who spied on courting couples in Hyde Park, London .]

(From The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang in English Language Reference)

Here's Michael Quinnion's take on the phrase.
www.worldwidewords.org/ qa/qa-nos2.htm

And, closer to home, there's mine:

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Nosy parker