In 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens what does the term 'walker' mean?

Answer 1

Oxford English Dictionary XII: 44. "More fully, Hookey Walker. [Always written with initial capital; probably a use of the surname Walker.] An exclamation expressive of incredulity, Also occasionally as a sb. (= 'humbug'), as in 'That is all Walker.' Hooky Walker! A phrase signifying that something either is not true or will not occur: (low) colloquial, from ca. 1810. Lex. Bal. Also Hook[e]y!, as in Bee, and by hooky!, as in Manchon. 2. Be off! (low) coll. from ca. 1830. Since ca. 1840, gen. abbr. to Walker! . . . . Acc. to Bee, ex. John Walker, a prevaricating hook-nosed spy. The boy from whom Scrooge orders the prize turkey responds with suitable incredulity, for "Walker" was a nineteenth-century colloquialism equivalent in meaning to "humbug"(see entry for page three), as in "That is all Walker." This would seem to be a specialized use of a surname, since more fully the expression is "Hookey Walker," and the "W" is always capitalized. more info at

Answer 2

In 'A Christmas Carol,' the term 'walker' refers to someone who assists or accompanies someone on a walk or outing. In the novella, the character Ebenezer Scrooge refers to Jacob Marley as his "sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner" and "even I can't say [that Marley was his] sole friend, or walker, and shover." In this context, it implies someone who walked with Marley before his death.