Chapter Prairie Fever to Prester John of P by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

In relation to the planets.-

Saturn	Turquoise	Lead.
Jupiter	Cornelian	Tin.
Mars	Emerald	Iron.
Sun	Diamond	Gold.
Venus	Amethyst	Copper.
Mercury	Loadstone	Quicksilver.
Moon	Crystal	Silver.

    The ancients divided precious stones into male and female. The darker stones were called the male, and the light ones were called the females. Male sapphires approach indigo in colour, but the female ones are sky-blue. Theophartos mentions the distinction.

Precocious means ripened by the sun before it has attained its full growth; premature; a development of mind or body beyond one's age. (Latin, præ coquo.)

“Many precocious trees, and such as have their spring in winter, may be found.”- Brown.

Prelate means simply a man preferred, a man promoted to an ecclesiastical office which gives him jurisdiction over other clergymen. Cardinals, bishops, abbots, and archdeacons were at one time so called, but the term is restricted in the Protestant Church to bishops. (Latin, præfero, prœlatus.)

Preliminary Canter (A). Metaphorically, means something which precedes the real business in hand. The reference is to the preliminary canter of horses before the race itself begins.

“The real business of the sessions commenced last night ... Everything that has preceded the introduction of this measure has been a preliminary canter.”- Newspaper paragraph, April 14th, 1894.

Premier Pas Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte. Pythagoras used to say, “The beginning is half the whole.”

“Incipe Dimidium facti est coepisse.”- Ausonius

“Dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet.”- Horace.

“Well begun is half done.”

    The reverse of these proverbs is: “Cest le plus difficile que d'écorcher la queue.”

Premonstratensian or Norbertine Order. Founded in the twelfth century by St. Norbert, who obtained permission, in 1120, to found a cloister in the diocese of Laon, in France. A spot was pointed out to him in a vision, and he termed the spot Pré Montré or Pratum Monstrátum (the meadow pointed out). The order might be called the reformed Augustine, or the White canons of the rule of St. Augustine.

Prendre un Rat par la Queue To pick a pocket. This proverb is very old- it was popular in the reign of Louis XIII.

Prepense (2 syl.). Malice prepense is malice designed or before deliberated. (Latin, præ pensus.)

Preposterous means “the cart before the horse.” (Latin, præ posterus, the first last and the last first.)

Presbyterian (See Blue .)

Prescott A waistcoat. Rhyming slang. (See Chivy .)

Presents Know all men by these presents- i.e. by the writings or documents now present. (Latin, per presentes, by the [writings] present.)

Preserver [Soter]. Ptolemy I. of Egypt was called Soter by the Rhodians, because he compelled Demetrios to raise the siege of Rhodes. (B.C. 367, 323-285.)

Press-money and Press-men do not mean money given to impress men into the service and men so impressed; but ready money, and men ready for service. When a recruit has received the money, he binds himself to be ready for service whenever his attendance is required. Similarly, a press-gang is a gang to get ready men. (Old French prest, now prêt; Italian presto.)