Chapter Soldier to Song of S by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Soldier to Song

Soldier originally meant a hireling or mercenary; one paid a solidus for military service; but hireling and soldier convey now very different ideas. (See above.)
   To come the old soldier over one. To dictate peremptorily and profess superiority of knowledge and experience.

Soldier's Heart A complaint common in the English army, indicated by a weak voice and great feebleness of the chest, for which soldiers are discharged. It is said to be the result of the present system of drill, which enforces expansion of the chest by restraining free breathing.

Soldiers' Battles (The). Malplaquet, 1709, and Inkermann, 1854, were both “soldiers' battles.”

Soldiers of Fortune Chevaliers de l'industrie; men who live by their wits. Referring to those men in mediæval times who let themselves for hire into any army.

“His father was a soldier of fortune, as I am a sailor.”- Sir W. Scott: The Antiquary, chap. xx.

Soldiering A barrack term for furbishing up of accoutrements.

“I got the screws last night, but I was busy soldiering till too late.”- J. H. Ewing: Story of a Short Life, p. 35.

Solecism (3 syl.). Misapplication of words; an expression opposed to the laws of syntax; so called from the city of Soli, in Cilicia, where an Athenian colony settled, and forgot the purity of their native language. (Suidas.)

Solemn Habitual, customary. (Latin, sollemnis, strictly speaking means “once a year,” “annual,” solus- annus.)

“Silent night with this her solemn bird” [i.e. the nightingale, the bird familiar to night].- Milton: Paradise Lost, v.

    Of course the usual meaning of “solemn” is devout; but an annual festival, like Good Friday, etc., may be both devout and serious. The Latin for “it is usual,” is solemne est, and to “solemnise” is to celebrate an annual custom.
   The Solemn Doctor. Henry Goethals was so called by the Sorbonne. (1227-1293.)
   Solemn League and Covenant, for the suppression of Popery and Prelacy, adopted by the Scotch Parliament in 1638, and accepted by the English in 1643. Charles II. swore to the Scotch that he would abide by it and therefore they crowned him in 1651 at Dunbar; but at the Restoration he not only rejected the covenant, but had it burnt by the common hangman.

Soler An upper room, a loft, a garret. (Latin, solarium.)

“Hastily than went thai all,
And soght him in the maydens hall,
In chambers high, es noght at hide,
And in solers on ilke side.”
Ywaine and Gawin, 807.

Solid Doctor Richard Middleton, a cordelier; also called the Profound Doctor. (1304.)

Solingen The Sheffield of Germany, famous for swords and fencing-foils.

Solomon The English Solomon. James I., called by Sully “the wisest fool in Christendom.” (1566, 1603- 1625.)
   Henry VII. was so called for his wise policy in uniting the York and Lancaster factions. (1457, 1485-1509.)
   Solomon of France. Charles V., le Sage. (1337, 1364-1380.)
   St. Louis or Louis IX. (1215, 1226-1270.)

Solomon's Carpet (See under Carpet, Pavilion .)

Solomon's Ring The rabbins say that Solomon wore a ring in which was set a chased stone that told the king everything he desired to know.

Solon of Parnassus So Voltaire called Boileau, in allusion to his Art of Poetry. (1636-1711.)

Solstice (2 syl.). The summer solstice is June 21st; the winter solstice is December 22nd; so called because, on arriving at the corresponding points of the ecliptic, the sun is stopped and made to approach the equator again. (Latin, sol sistit or stat, the sun stops.)