(French). A ninny, a snob. From Molière's comedy of George Dandin.
Dandin (George). A French cit, who marries a sprig of nobility, and lives with his wife's parents. Madame appeals on all occasions to her father and mother, who, of course, take her part against her husband. Poor George is in a sad plight, and is for ever lamenting his fate with the expression, Vous l'avez voulu, George Dandin (`Tis your own fault, George Dandin). George Dandin stands for anyone who marries above his sphere, and is pecked by his wife and mother-in-law. The word means “a ninny.” (Molière's comedy so called.)
Perrin Dandin. A sort of Lynch judge in Rabelais, who seated himself on the trunk of the first tree he came to, and there decided the causes submitted to him. Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
