For the Thunderbirds Character see Aloysius "Nosey" Parker
The term Nosey Parker isn’t recorded until 1907. Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of Puppetry Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a Fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO The term nosey for someone inquisitive, figuratively always sticking their nose into other people’s affairs, is a little older, dating back to the 1880s. Before that, anyone called nosey was just somebody with a big nose, like the Duke of Wellington, nicknamed Old Nosey. The Dukedom of Wellington, derived from Wellington in Somerset, is an hereditary title and the senior rank in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
An alternative suggestion, put forward by Eric Partridge in his Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, was that the saying dates from the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851. Eric Honeywood Partridge ( February 6, 1894 – June 1, 1979) was a noted New Zealand / British lexicographer of The Great Exhibition, also known as Crystal Palace, was an international exhibition that was held in Hyde Park, London, England, from 1 Hyde Park is one of the largest Parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner Large numbers of people attended the Exhibition, so there would have been lots of opportunities for peeping Toms and eavesdroppers in the grounds. The word parker has since medieval times been used for an official in charge of a park, a park-keeper. The term was used informally for the royal park-keepers who supervised Hyde Park at the time of the Great Exhibition. So the saying might conceivably have been applied to a nosey park-keeper.
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, suggests that the phrase nosey Parker was originally nose-poker. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sometimes referred to simply as Brewer's — is a Reference work containing definitions and explanations of many A poker, used in the sense of somebody who pokes into another’s affairs, has a long history, well pre-dating the nineteenth century appearance of nosey Parker. It’s possible that nose-poker became modified with the second element being converted into a proper name.
In popular culture
"Nosey Parker" is a Jo Jo Zep & the Falcons song. Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons were an Australian band that featured singer/songwriter Joe Camilleri.
"Now I go cleaning windows to earn an honest bob / For a nosey parker it's an interesting job" is a lyric from "The Window Cleaner" popularized by George Formby. "The Window Cleaner" (also known as "When I'm Cleaning Windows") is a Comedy song performed by Lancastrian comic actor and Ukulele George Formby may refer to George Formby Jr, banjolele player singer and comedian 1904 - 1961 George Formby Sr
In the movie Nine and a Half Weeks (1986), When John leaves Elizabeth at his home as he goes out, he calls from a payphone to ask her if she's been looking through his things in his absence. He asks if she's been a "Nosey Parker"
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