"Barmy Army" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "An English football chant, in which supporters of a team would chant that they were the team manager's \"barmy army\", was applied to a particularly \"barmy\" group of supporters who followed the English cricket team to Australia in 1994–95 despite the team being seen as having little prospect of success.\nThe origin of \"Barmy Army\" was based on a soubriquet by Leeds United supporters for Howard Wilkinson, the team manager during the late eighties and early nineties. He was known as Sergeant Wilko - a skit on Sergeant Bilko, a well known comedy character portrayed by Phil Silvers a couple of decades earlier, but still at the time on TV. Sergeant Bilko's army became Sergeant Wilko's army, the barmy bit was added because it's Yorkshire and it makes a good chant. It was picked up by other teams, whereupon the Sergeant Wilko bit was dropped. Then by cricket people. The tune is the same though.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the Barmy Army",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "def": "1",
        "head": "Barmy Army"
      },
      "expansion": "the Barmy Army",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Cricket",
          "orig": "en:Cricket",
          "parents": [
            "Ball games",
            "Sports",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
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          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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        {
          "_dis": "69 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English reduplications",
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          "_dis": "55 45",
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          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An organised group of cricket fans which arranges touring parties of its members to follow the English cricket team on all of its overseas tours."
      ],
      "id": "en-Barmy_Army-en-name-~PSPqaRi",
      "links": [
        [
          "cricket",
          "cricket"
        ],
        [
          "organised",
          "organised"
        ],
        [
          "group",
          "group"
        ],
        [
          "fan",
          "fan"
        ],
        [
          "touring",
          "touring"
        ],
        [
          "parties",
          "parties"
        ],
        [
          "member",
          "member"
        ],
        [
          "follow",
          "follow"
        ],
        [
          "English",
          "English"
        ],
        [
          "team",
          "team"
        ],
        [
          "overseas",
          "overseas"
        ],
        [
          "tour",
          "tour"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(cricket) An organised group of cricket fans which arranges touring parties of its members to follow the English cricket team on all of its overseas tours."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "cricket",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "41 59",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2022 November 29, Ian Mitchelmore, “Wales put out of World Cup misery by England as sobering tournament must signal changing of the guard”, in WalesOnline",
          "text": "The Barmy Army burst into life, and the sheer numbers of those supporting the Three Lions became evident as the stadium bowl vibrated in tune with their chants.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The England supporters in other sports, for example those of the England national football team."
      ],
      "id": "en-Barmy_Army-en-name-lNzg3Gii",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) The England supporters in other sports, for example those of the England national football team."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-Barmy Army.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/90/En-au-Barmy_Army.ogg/En-au-Barmy_Army.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/En-au-Barmy_Army.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Barmy Army"
  ],
  "word": "Barmy Army"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English reduplications",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English uncountable nouns"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "An English football chant, in which supporters of a team would chant that they were the team manager's \"barmy army\", was applied to a particularly \"barmy\" group of supporters who followed the English cricket team to Australia in 1994–95 despite the team being seen as having little prospect of success.\nThe origin of \"Barmy Army\" was based on a soubriquet by Leeds United supporters for Howard Wilkinson, the team manager during the late eighties and early nineties. He was known as Sergeant Wilko - a skit on Sergeant Bilko, a well known comedy character portrayed by Phil Silvers a couple of decades earlier, but still at the time on TV. Sergeant Bilko's army became Sergeant Wilko's army, the barmy bit was added because it's Yorkshire and it makes a good chant. It was picked up by other teams, whereupon the Sergeant Wilko bit was dropped. Then by cricket people. The tune is the same though.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the Barmy Army",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "def": "1",
        "head": "Barmy Army"
      },
      "expansion": "the Barmy Army",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Cricket"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An organised group of cricket fans which arranges touring parties of its members to follow the English cricket team on all of its overseas tours."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cricket",
          "cricket"
        ],
        [
          "organised",
          "organised"
        ],
        [
          "group",
          "group"
        ],
        [
          "fan",
          "fan"
        ],
        [
          "touring",
          "touring"
        ],
        [
          "parties",
          "parties"
        ],
        [
          "member",
          "member"
        ],
        [
          "follow",
          "follow"
        ],
        [
          "English",
          "English"
        ],
        [
          "team",
          "team"
        ],
        [
          "overseas",
          "overseas"
        ],
        [
          "tour",
          "tour"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(cricket) An organised group of cricket fans which arranges touring parties of its members to follow the English cricket team on all of its overseas tours."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "cricket",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2022 November 29, Ian Mitchelmore, “Wales put out of World Cup misery by England as sobering tournament must signal changing of the guard”, in WalesOnline",
          "text": "The Barmy Army burst into life, and the sheer numbers of those supporting the Three Lions became evident as the stadium bowl vibrated in tune with their chants.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The England supporters in other sports, for example those of the England national football team."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) The England supporters in other sports, for example those of the England national football team."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-Barmy Army.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/90/En-au-Barmy_Army.ogg/En-au-Barmy_Army.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/En-au-Barmy_Army.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Barmy Army"
  ],
  "word": "Barmy Army"
}