Chapter Tike to Tirled of T by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Tike to Tirled

Tike A Yorkshire tike. A clownish rustic. In Scotland a dog is called a tyke (Icelandic, tik); hence, a snarling, obstinate fellow.

Tilbert (Sir). The cat in the tale of Reynard the Fox. (See Tybalt .)

Tile A hat. (Anglo-Saxon, tigel; Latin, tego, to cover.)

Tile Loose He has a tile loose. He is not quite compos mentis; he is not all there.

Tile a Lodge in Freemasonry, means to close the door, to prevent anyone uninitiated from entering. Of course, to tile a house means to finish building it, and to tile a lodge is to complete it.

Timber-toe (A). A wooden leg, one with a wooden leg.

Time Time and tide wait for no man.

“For the next inn he spurs a main.
In haste alights, and scuds away-
But time and tide for no man stay.”
Somerville: The Sweet-scented Miser.

   Take [or Seize ] Time by the forelock (Thales of Miletus.). Time is represented as an old man, quite bald, with the exception of a single lock of hair on the forehead. Shakespeare calls him “that bald sexton, Time.” (King John, iii. 1.)
   Time is, Time was, Time's past. Friar Bacon made a brazen head, and it was said if he heard his head speak he would succeed in his work in hand, if not he would fail. A man named Miles was set to watch the head, and while Bacon was sleeping the head uttered these words: “TIME IS;” and half an hour afterwards it said “TIME WAS;” after the expiration of another half-hour it said “TIME'S PAST,” fell down, and was broken to pieces.

“Like Friar Bacon's brazen head, I've spoken;
Time is, time was, time's past.”
Byron: Don Juan. i. 217-8.

Time-bargain (A), in Stock, is a speculation, not an investment. A time-bargain is made to buy or sell again as soon as possible and receive the difference realised. An investment is made for the sake of the interest given.

Time of Grace The lawful season for venery, which began at Midsummer and lasted to Holyrood Day. The fox and wolf might be hunted from the Nativity to the Annunciation; the roebuck from Easter to Michaelmas: the roe from Michaelmas to Candlemas; the hare from Michaelmas to Midsummer; and the boar from the Nativity to the Purification. (See Sporting Seasons .)

Time-honoured Lancaster Old John of Gaunt. His father was Edward III., his son Henry IV., his nephew Richard II. of England; his second wife was Constance, daughter of Peter the Cruel of Castile and Leon, his only daughter married John of Castile and Leon; his sister Johanna married Alphonso, King of Castile. Shakespeare calls him “time-honoured” and “old;” honoured he certainly was, but was only fifty-nine at his death. Hesiod is called Old, meaning “long ago.”

Times (The). A newspaper, founded by John Walter. In 1785 he established The Daily Universal Register, but in 1788 changed the name into The Times, or Daily Universal Register. (See Thunderer .)

Timoleon The Corinthian who so hated tyranny that he murdered his own brother Timophanes when he attempted to make himself absolute in Corinth.

“The fair Corinthian boast
Timoleon, happy temper, mild and firm,
Who wept the brother while the tyrant bled
Thomson; Winter

Timon of Athens The misanthrope, Shakespeare's play so called. Lord Macaulay uses the expression to “out-Timon Timon”- i.e. to be more misanthropical than even Timon.

Tin Money. A depreciating synonym for silver, called by alchemists “Jupiter.”

Tine-man (The). The Earl of Douglas, who died 1424. (See Sir W. Scott: Tales of a Grandfather, chap. xviii.)