Chapter Pro and Con to Proof Prints of P by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Pro and Con to Proof Prints

Pro and Con (Latin). For and against. “Con.” is a contraction of contra.

Pro Tanto As an instalment, good enough as far as it goes, but not final; for what it is worth.

“I heard Mr. Parnell accept the Bill of 1886 as a measure that would close the differences between the two countries; but since then he stated that he had accepted it as a pro tanto measure. ... It was a parliamentary bet, and he hoped to make future amendments on it.”- Mr. Chamberlain's speech, April 10th, 1893.

Pro Tempore (3 syl.). Temporarily; for the time being, till something is permanently settled. Contracted into pro tem.

Probate of a Will A certified copy of a will by an officer whose duty it is to attest it. The original is retained in the court registry, and executors act on the proved copy. Anyone may see an official copy of any will at the registry office on payment of a shilling.

Probe I must probe that matter to the bottom- must narrowly examine into it. The allusion is to a surgeon probing a wound, or searching for some extraneous substance in the body.

Probole (3 syl.), as applied to Jesus Christ, is this: that He was divine only because He was divinely begotten; in fact, He was a shoot of the divine stem. This heterodox notion was combated by Irenæus, but was subsequently revived by Montanus and Tertullian. The word is properly applied to the process of a bone- that is, a bone growing out of a normal bone. (Greek, pro-ballo.)

Proces-Verbal . A minute and official statement of some fact.

“We (says the procès-verbal) asked him what use he had made of the pistol [i.e. We, says the official report, etc.].”- The Times (Law Report).

Procession of the Black Breeches This is the heading of a chapter in vol. ii. of Carlyle's French Revolution. The chapter contains a description of the mob procession, headed by Santerre carrying a pair of black satin breeches on a pole. The mob forced its way into the Tuileries on June 20th, 1792, and presented the king (Louis XVI.) with the bonnet rouge and a tricolour cockade.

Proclaim on the Housetop To proclaim or make known to everyone; to blab in public. Dr. Jahn says that the ancient Jews “ascended their roofs to announce anything to the multitude, to pray to God, and to perform sacrifices” (Matt. x. 27).

“No secret can escape being proclaimed from the housetop.”- London Review.

Proclivity His proclivities are all evil. His tendencies or propensities have a wrong bias. The word means downhill tendency. (Latin, proclivis.)

Procris Unerring as the dart of Procris. When Procris fled from Cephalus out of shame, Diana gave her a dog that never failed to secure its prey, and a dart which not only never missed aim, but which always returned of its own accord to the shooter. (See Cephalus .)

Procrustes' Bed Procrustes was a robber of Attica, who placed all who fell into his hands upon an iron bed. If they were longer than the bed, he cut off the redundant part; if shorter, he stretched them till they fitted it. Any attempt to reduce men to one standard, one way of thinking, or one way of acting, is called placing them on Procrustes' bed, and the person who makes the attempt is called Procrustes. (See Girdle .)

“Tyrant more cruel than Procrustes old,
Who to his iron-bed by torture fits
Their nobler parts, the souls of suffering wits.”
Mallet: Verbal Criticism.

Procrustean Pertaining to Procrustes, and his mode of procedure. (See above.)

Prodigal Festus says the Romans called victims wholly consumed by fire prodigæ hostiæ (victims prodigalised), and adds that those who waste their substance are therefore called prodigals. This derivation can hardly