Chapter Cave of Mammon to Cento of C by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Cave of Mammon to Cento

Cave of Mammon The abode of the god of wealth in Spenser's Faërie Queene, ii. 7.

Caveat (3 syl.)    To enter a caveat. To give legal notice that the opponent is not to proceed with the suit in hand until the party giving the notice has been heard; to give a warning or admonition.

Caveat Emptor The buyer must be responsible for his own free act. Let the buyer keep his eyes open, for the bargain he agrees to is binding. In English law, Chief Justice Tindal modified this rule. He said if the buyer gives notice that he relies on the vendor's judgment, and the vendor warrants the article, then the vendor is bound to furnish an article “reasonable and fit for the purpose required.”

Cavell or Cavel. A parcel or allotment of land measured by a cord or cable. (German, kabel, whence kaveln, to assign by lot.)

Cavendish Tobacco An American brand of chewing or smoking tobacco, prepared for use by softening, sweetening with molasses, and pressing into plugs. Called “Cavendish” from the original manufacturer.

Caviare (3 syl.). Caviare to the general. Above the taste or comprehension of ordinary people. Caviare is a kind of pickle made from the roe of sturgeons, much esteemed in Muscovy. It is a dish for the great, but beyond the reach of the general public. (Hamlet, ii. 2.)

“All popular talk about lacustrine villages and flint implements ... is caviare to the multitude.”- Pall Mall Gazette.

Cavo-rilievo “Relief,” cut below the original surface, the highest parts of the figure being on a level with the surface. Also called Intaglio-rilievato (pronounce cah'-vo-rel-ye'-vo).

Caxon A worn-out wig; also a big cauliflower wig, worn out or not. It has been suggested that the word is from the proper name, but nothing whatever is known about such a person.

“People scarce could decide on its phiz,
Which looked wisest- the caxon or jowl.
Peter Pindar: The Portfolio.

C.D i.e. Cætera desunt (Latin). The rest [of the MS.] is wanting.

Cean The Cean poet. Simonides, of Ceos.

“The Cean and the Teian muse.”
Byron: Don Juan (The Poet's Song).

Ceca to Mecca (From). From one end of the world to the other; from pillar to post. It is a Spanish phrase meaning to roam about purposelessly. Ceca and Mecca are two places visited by Mohammedan pilgrims. (Compare: From Dan to Beersheba; and From Land's End to John o' Groat's.)

“ `Let us return home,' said Sancho, `no longer ramble about from Ceca to Mecca.' ”- Cervantes; Don Quixote, I. iii. 4.

Cecilia (St.). A Roman lady who underwent martyrdom in the third century. She is the patron saint of the blind, being herself blind; she is also patroness of musicians, and “inventor of the organ.”

“At length divine Cecilia came,
Inventress of the vocal frame.”
Dryden: Alexander's Feast.

   According to tradition, an angel fell in love with her for her musical skill, and used nightly to visit her. Her husband saw the heavenly visitant, who gave to both a crown of martyrdom which he brought from Paradise. Dryden and Pope have written odes in her honour, and both speak of her charming an angel by her musical powers:

“He [Timotheus] raised a mortal to the skies,”
She [Cecilia] brought an angel down.”
Dryden: Alexander's Feast.

Cecil's Fast A dinner off fish. W. Cecil (Lord Burleigh) introduced a Bill to enjoin the eating of fish on certain days in order to restore the fish trade.