What it means
A cheeky British way to say bow tie. It sounds a bit old-school and a bit wink-wink, the kind of word that makes formal gear feel less stiff and more pub-chat friendly. You’ll hear it round weddings, posh dos, races, or anytime someone’s been tarted up and is getting gently rinsed for it.
Usage examples
"Turned up to the do in a proper dicky bow and me nan went, aye, look at you. I said, cheers, now get us a pint."
"He turned up to the wedding in a velvet jacket and a bright red dicky-bow."
"Help me with this dicky-bow, I can never get the knot straight."
"Got a funeral at twelve and I’m still fighting this flaming dicky bow in the mirror."
"He looked dead proud of his little dicky bow till the lads started calling him the bingo host."
Where it comes from
It comes from dicky, an older word for a detachable shirt front worn with formal evening kit. The bow tie sitting with that bit of dresswear got called a dicky bow. Even after the detachable front mostly vanished, the name carried on in British speech as a jokey way to mean bow tie.
This expression also appears in
