A smart overcoat; so called from a tailor of the name, and rendered popular by its association with Joseph's “coat of many colours.” Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham…
A wealthy merchant and magician of Delhi, in Ridlay's Tales of the Genii. “Like the jeweller of Delhi, in the house of the magician Bennaskar, I at length reached a vaulted room dedicated…
The true “Mesopotamia” ring (London Review)- i.e. something high-sounding and pleasing, but wholly past comprehension. The allusion is to the story of an old woman who told her pastor that…
Wife of the Emperor Claudius of Rome. Her name has become a byword for lasciviousness and incontinency. Catherine II. of Russia is called The Modern Messalina (1729-1796). (See Marozia…
(The). The oak under which Henry VIII. sat, in Epping Forest, while Anne (Boleyn) was being executed. Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894King's PictureKing's…
by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark February 18, 1806February 20, 1806February 19, 1806 Wednesday February 19th 1806. Sergt. Ordway set out again this morning with a party for the…
The crow-bars, hatchets, and hammers used by sheriffs' officers to force doors and locks. (Law phrase.) “The door, framed to withstand attacks from exciseman, constables, and other…
