pearly king
noun /ˌpɜːli ˈkɪŋ/
/ˌpɜːrli ˈkɪŋ/
(British English)- (in London) a man who on special occasions wears dark clothes covered in thousands of small shiny buttons. A pearly queen is a woman who does the same. This is a tradition among the people who sell fruit and vegetables from carts in the streets, but is now only done for tourists and to collect money for charities.