Hi Margo, to quote a colleague I just asked about the derivation of the word 'barney', "It's been around since before JC played full-back for Jerusalem". It has two vaguely similar contexts, the first meaning a minor melee (overheated emotions) e.g. "I was discussing politics with Margo and we had a real barney". Otherwise it means to make a mistake or (less often) to tell a deliberate small lie, "He tried to tell us that he wasn't on the turps (booze) last nignt, but I know he was just telling a barney".

I assume that it's Irish, but I have no idea. It certainly pre-dates Hanna-Barbera.

Regards, John