Not for Joe

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Meaning

Certainly not for me; an emphatic refusal of an offer, proposal or course of action. Dated and jocular. Joe or Joseph stands for the speaker, not necessarily a real person present. Regional use: British English, especially Victorian music-hall and later colloquial use.

Origin

The longer form 'not for Joseph' is recorded by 1844, so the saying predates the music-hall song often credited with creating it. Arthur Lloyd's 'Not for Joseph', first published in 1867, made the refusal nationally familiar. Lloyd later offered an omnibus anecdote about its inspiration, but that cannot explain the earlier printed use.

Research Sources

  1. Not for Joseph Folksong and Music Hall
  2. Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present, volume 4 Horntip digital facsimile of Farmer and Henley

Variants

  • Not for Joseph

Usage Examples

  • A week in that damp tent? Not for Joe.
  • They invited me to try the raw eel. 'Not for Joe,' I said.
  • When the foreman mentioned unpaid Sunday work, Bill shook his head: 'Not for Joseph.'

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