Jeremy Diddler is a fictional character in James Kenney's 1803

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

''Raising the Wind'', and is said to have been based on an amusing importunist named Bibb, dubbed "half-crown Bibb". A needy, artful swindler, "Jeremy 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. The character of Jeremy Diddler is discussed in some detail in

Herman Melville Herman Melville (born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a r ...

's '' The Confidence Man: His Masquerade''. He appears in

Thomas Haynes Bayly Thomas Haynes Bayly (13 October 1797 – 22 April 1839) was an English poet, songwriter, dramatist and writer. Life Bayly was born in Bath on 13 October 1797, the only child of Nathaniel Bayly, an influential citizen of Bath: he was related t ...

's novel '' David Dumps'' (chapter XV).

References

Fictional con artists Male characters in theatre Comedy theatre characters Male characters in literature Comedy literature characters Theatre characters introduced in 1803 Characters in plays {{lit-char-stub