Chapter Turcaret to Twickenham of T by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Turcaret to Twickenham

Turcaret One who has become rich by hook or by crook, and, having nothing else to display, makes a great display of his wealth. A chevalier in Le Sage's comedy of the same name.

Tureen' A deep pan for holding soup. (French, terrine, a pan made of terre, earth.)

Turf (The). The racecourse; the profession of horse-racing, which is done on turf or grass. One who lives by the turf, or whose means of living is derived from running horses or betting on races.

“All men are equal on the turf and under it.”- Lord George Bentinck.

Turk Slave, villain. A term of reproach used by the Greeks of Constantinople.
   You young Turk, a playful reprimand to a young mischievous child.

Turk Gregory Gregory VII., called Hildebrand, a furious Churchman, who surmounted every obstacle to deprive the emperor of his right of investiture of bishops. He was exceedingly disliked by the early reformers.

“Turk Gregory never did such deeds in arms as I have done this day.”- 1 Henry IV., v. 3.

Turkey The bird with a red wattle. A native of America, at one time supposed to have come from Turkey.

Turkish Spy was written by John Paul Marana, an Italian, who had been imprisoned for conspiracy. After his release he retired to Monaco, where he wrote the History of the Plot. Subsequently he removed to Paris, and produced his Turkish Spy, in which he gives the history of the last age.

Turlupin a punster or farceur, with turlupinade, and the verb turlupiner. It was usual in the 17th century for play-writers in Italy and France to change their names. Thus Le Grand called himself Belleville in tragedy, and Turlupin in farce; Hugues Guéret took the name of Fléchelles; and Jean Baptiste Poquelin called himself Moliere, but there was a Molière before him who wrote plays.

Turmeric like berberry, being yellow, was supposed to cure the yellow jaundice. According to the doctrine of signatures, Nature labels every plant with a mark to show what it is good for. Red plants are good for fever, white ones for rigor. Hence the red rose is supposed to cure haemorrhage. (See Thistles .)

Turncoat As the dominions of the duke of Saxony were bounded in part by France, one of the early dukes hit upon the device of a coat blue one side, and white the other. When he wished to be thought in the French interest he wore the white outside; otherwise the outside colour was blue. Whence a Saxon was nicknamed Emmanuel Turncoat. (Scots' Magazine, October, 1747.)
   Without going to history, we have a very palpable etymon in the French tourne-côte (turn-side). (See Coat.)

Turning the Tables (See under Tables .)

Turnip-Garden (The). So called by the Jacobites. George II. was called the “Turnip-hougher” [hoer], and his hiring of troops was spoken of as “selling the turnips,” or “trying to sell his roots.” Hanover at the time was eminently a pastoral country.

Turnip Townsend The brother-in-law of Sir Robert Walpole, who, after his retirement from office in 1731, devoted himself to the improvement of agriculture.

Turnspit Dog One who has all the work but none of the profit; he turns the spit but eats not of the roast. The allusion is to the dog used formerly to turn the spit in roasting. Topsel says, “They go into a wheel, which they turn round about with the weight of their bodies, so dilligently ... that no drudge ... can do the feate more cunningly.” (1697.)

Turpin Archbishop of Rheims. A mythological contemporary of Charlemagne. His chronicle is supposed to be written at Vienne, in Dauphiny, whence it is addressed to Leoprandus, Dean of Aquisgranensis(Aix- la-Chapelle). It was not really written till the end of the eleventh century, and the probable author was a canon of Barcelona.

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