The Muffin Man

Nursery rhyme baker

The Muffin Man is a figure from a traditional English nursery rhyme and children's singing game: Do you know the Muffin Man who lives on Drury Lane?

The rhyme likely references street vendors who sold muffins door-to-door in 18th and 19th century England.

The phrase sometimes appears in pop culture as a knowing reference or non sequitur: Not the buttons! Not the gumdrop buttons!

Related

Drury Lane · pastry · blueberry · song · children · morning · oven · baking · street · vendor · English · fairy tale · traditional · dough · baked goods · sweet · breakfast · early morning

Opposites
cultural register

The Muffin ManSweeney Todd

Homicidal London barber

Hannibal Lecter · Jack the Ripper

familiarity/mystery

The Muffin Mannobody

Inconsequential person

benign vs. sinister folkloric figures

The Muffin ManBluebeard

Folk tale wife-killer

Rumpelstiltskin · Krampus · Jack the Ripper

Family

muffin, muffins, manhood, mankind, manful, unman, unmanned

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Positive · Everyday, not technical · Rated G