Chapter Grandmother to Grave as an Owl of G by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Grandmother to Grave as an Owl

Grandmother My grandmother's review, the British Review. Lord Byron said, in a sort of jest, "I bribed my grandmother's review. " The editor of the British called him to account, and this gave the poet a fine opportunity of pointing the battery of his satire against the periodical. (Don Juan.)

Grane (1 syl.). To strangle, throttle (Anglo-Saxon, gryn).

Grange Properly the granum (granary) or farm of a monastery, where the corn was kept in store. In Lincolnshire and other northern counties any lone farm is so called.
   Mariana, of the Moated Grange, is the title of a poem by Tennyson, suggested by the character of Mariana in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.
    Houses attached to monasteries where rent was paid in grain were also called granges.

"Till thou return, the Court I will exchange
For some poor cottage, or some country grange."
Drayton: Lady Geraldine to Earl of Surrey.

Grangerise Having obtained a copy of the poet's works, he proceeded at once to Grangerise them. Grangerisation is the addition of all sorts of things directly and indirectly bearing on the book in question, illustrating it, connected with it or its author, or even the author's family and correspondents. It includes autograph letters, caricatures, prints, broadsheets, biographical sketches, anecdotes, scandals, press notices, parallel passages, and any other sort of matter which can be got together as an olla podrida for the matter in hand. The word is from the Rev. J. Granger (1710-1776). Pronounce Grain-jer-ise. (See Bowdlerise.) There are also Grangerist, Grangerism, Grangerisation, etc.

Grangousier (4 syl.). King of Utopia, who married, in "the vigour of his old age," Gargamelle, daughter of the king of the Parpaillons, and became the father of Gargantua, the giant. He is described as a man in his dotage, whose delight was to draw scratches on the hearth with a burnt stick while watching the broiling of his chestnuts. When told of the invasion of Picrochole, King of Lerné, he exclaimed, "Alas! alas do I dream? Can it be true?" and began calling on all the saints of the calendar. He then sent to expostulate with Picrochole, and, seeing this would not do, tried what bribes by way of reparation would effect. In the meantime he sent to Paris for his son, who soon came to his rescue, utterly defeated Picrochole, and put his army to full rout. Some say he is meant for Louis XII., but this is most improbable, not only because there is very little resemblance between the two, but because he was king of Utopia, some considerable distance from Paris. Motteux thinks the academy figure of this old Priam was John d'Albret, King of Navarre. He certainly was no true Catholic, for he says in chap. xlv. they called him a heretic for declaiming against the saints. (Rabelais: Gargantua, i. 3.)

Grani (2 syl.). Siegfried's horse, whose swiftness exceeded that of the winds. (See Horse.)

Granite City (The). Aberdeen.

Granite Redoubt (The). The grenadiers of the Consular Guard were so called at the battle of Marengo in 1800, because when the French had given way they formed into a square, stood like flints against the Austrians, and stopped all further advance.

Granite State (The). New Hampshire is so called, because the mountain parts are chiefly granite.

Grantorto A giant who withheld the inheritance of Irena (Ireland). He is meant for the genius of the Irish rebellion of 1580, slain by Sir Artegal. (Spenser: Faërie Queene, v.) (See Giants.)

Grapes The grapes are sour. You disparage it because it is beyond your reach. The allusion is to the well-known fable of the fox, which tried in vain to get at some grapes, but when he found they were beyond his reach went away saying, "I see they are sour."
   Wild grapes. What has been translated "wild grapes" (Isaiah v. 2-4) the Arabs call "wolf-grapes." It is the fruit of the deadly nightshade, which is black and shining. This plant is very common in the vineyards of Palestine.