The Merry-Thought is a collection of inscriptions from public houses, taverns, and boghouses (toilettes) throughout England in the early eighteenth century.
The name of its psedonymous author, “Hurlo Thrumbo”, derives from the dramatic work Hurlothrumbo; or, The super-natural (1729), a popular compilation of singing, dancing and nonsense written by Samuel Johnson, a “dancing-master of Cheshire” (1691-1773). The collection is dedicated to the printer, “J. Roberts of Warwick Lane”, which gives modern scholars reason to inquire whether the editor was in fact the famous writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, or the printer John Roberts, or an unknown person.
The Merry-Thought is a unique addition to the literary scene of the Augustan Age, discussing the varied topics of public and private life, love, gender, sex, and bodily functions. There were four collections published between 1731 and 1735,...
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Citation: Kısmet Bell, Jameson. "The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany by Hurlo Thrumbo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 September 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19740, accessed 18 December 2025.]
