Chapter Galesus to Gamaheu of G by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Galesus to Gamaheu

Galesus (g hard). A river of Puglia, not far from Tarentum. The sheep that fed on the meadows of Galesus were noted for their fine wool. (Horace: 2 Carminum Liber, vi. 10.)

Galiana (g hard). A Moorish princess. Her father, King Gadalfe of Toledo, built for her a palace on the Tagus so splendid that the phrase "a palace of Galiana" became proverbial in Spain.

Galimaufrey or Gallimaufrey (g hard). A medley; any confused jumble of things; but strictly speaking, a hotch-potch made up of all the scraps of the larder. (French, galimafrée; Spanish, gallofa, "broken meat," gallofero, a beggar.)

"He woos both high and low, both rich and poor,
Both young and old, one with another, Ford;
He loves thy gaily-mawfry [all sorts]."
Shakespeare: Merry Wives, ii.1.

Gall and Wormwood Extremely disagreeable and annoying.

"It was so much gall and wormwood to the family." - Mrs. E. Lynn Linton.

Gall of Bitterness (The). The bitterest grief; extreme affliction. The ancients taught that grief and joy were subject to the gall, affection to the heart, knowledge to the kidneys, anger to the bile (one of the four humours of the body), and courage or timidity to the liver. The gall of bitterness, like the heart of hearts, means the bitter centre of bitterness, as the heart of hearts means the innermost recesses of the heart or affections. In the Acts it is used to signify "the sinfulness of sin," which leads to the bitterest grief.

"I perceive thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." - Acts viii. 23.

Gall of Pigeons The story goes that pigeons have no gall, because the dove sent from the ark by Noah burst its gall out of grief, and none of the pigeon family have had a gall ever since.

"For sin' the Flood of Noah
The dow she had nae ga'."
Jamieson: Popular Ballads (Lord of Rorlin's Daughter).

Gall's Bell (St.). A four-sided bell, which was certainly in existence in the seventh century, and is still shown in the monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland.

Gallant (g hard). Brave, polite, courteous, etc. (French, galant.)

Gallery To play with one eye on the gallery. To work for popularity. As an actor who sacrifices his author for popular applause, or a stump political orator "orates" to catch votes.

"The instant we begin to think about success and the effect of our work - to play with one eye on the gallery - we lose power, and touch, and everything else." - Rudyard Kipling: The Light that Failed.

Galley (g hard). A printer's frame into which type from the stick (q.v.) is emptied. In the galley the type appears only in columns; it is subsequently divided into pages, and transferred to the "chase" (q.v.). (French, galée.)

Galley Pence Genoese coin brought over by merchants ("galleymen"), who used the Galley Wharf, Thames Street. These pence, or rather halfpence, were larger than our own.

Gallia (g hard). France.

"Impending hangs o'er Gallia's humbled coast."
Thomson: Summer.

Gallia Braccata [trousered Gaul ]. Gallia Narbonensis was so called from the "braccæ"' or trousers which the natives wore in common with the Scythians and Persians.

Gallia Comata That part of Gaul which belonged to the Roman emperor, and was governed by legates (legati), was so called from the long hair (coma) worn by the inhabitants flowing over their shoulders.

Gallicenæ The nine virgin priestesses of the Gallic oracle. By their charms they could raise the wind and waves, turn themselves into any animal form they liked, cure wounds and diseases, and predict future events. (Gallic mythology.)