Chapter What we Gave we Have, What we Spent we Had, What we Had we Lost to Whistle of W by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

What we Gave we Have, What we Spent we Had, What we Had we Lost to Whistle

What we Gave we Have, What we Spent we Had, What we Had we Lost Epitaph of the Good Earl of Courtenay. (Gibbon: History of the Courtenay Family.)
   The epitaph in St. George's church, Doncaster, runs thus:

“How now, who is here?
I, Robin of Doncastere
And Margaret, my feere.
That I spent, that I had;
That I gave, that I have;
That I left, that I lost.”

   This is a free translation of Martial's distich-

“Extra fortunam est quidquid donatur amicis
Quas dederis, solas semper habebis opes.”

What's What He knows what's what. He is a shrewd fellow not to be imposed on. One of the senseless questions of logic was “Quid est quid? ”

“He knew what's what, and that's as high
As metaphysic wit can fly.”
Butler: Hudibras, part i. canto 1.

Whately Archbishop of Dublin, nicknamed at Oxford “the White Bear” (White from his white overcoat, and Bear from the rude, unceremonious way in which he would trample upon an adversary in argument). (1787- 1863.)

Wheal or Huel means a tin-mine. (Cornwall.)

Wheatear (the bird) has no connection with either wheat or ear, but it is the Anglo-Saxon hwit (white), ears (rump). Sometimes called the White-rump, and in French blanculet (the little blanccul). So called from its white rump.

Wheel Emblematical of St. Catharine, who was put to death on a wheel somewhat resembling a chaff- cutter.
   St. Donatus bears a wheel set round with lights.
   St. Euphemia and St. Willigis both carry wheels.
   St. Quintin is sometimes represented with a broken wheel at his feet.
   To put one's spoke into another man's wheel. (See under Spoke.)

Wheel of Fortune (The). Fortuna, the goddess, is represented on ancient monuments with a wheel in her hand, emblematical of her inconstancy.

“Though Fortune's malice overthrow my state.
My mind exceeds the compass of her wheel.”
Shakespeare: 3 Henry VI., iv. 3.

Whelps Fifth-rate men of war. Thus, in Howell's letters we read, “At the return of this fleet two of the whelps were cast away”; and in the Travels of Sir W. Brereton we read, “I went aboard one of the king's ships, called the ninth whelp, which is ... 215 ton and tonnage in king's books.” In Queen Elizabeth's navy was a ship called Iron's Whelp, and her navy was distinguished as first, second ... tenth whelp.

Whetstone (See Accius Navius .)

Whetstone of Witte (The) (1556), by Robert Recorde, a treatise on algebra. The old name for algebra was the “Cossic Art,” and Cos Ingenii rendered into English is “the Whetstone of Wit.” It will be remembered that the maid told the belated traveller in the Fortunes of Nigel that her master had “no other books but her young mistress's Bible ... and her master's Whetstone of Witte, by Robert Recorde.”

Whig is from Whiggam-more, a corruption of Ugham-more (pack-saddle thieves), from the Celtic ugham (a pack-saddle). The Scotch insurgent Covenanters were called pack-saddle thieves, from the pack- saddles which they used to employ for the stowage of plunder. The Marquis of Argyle collected a band of these vagabonds, and instigated them to aid him in opposing certain government measures in the reign of James I., and in the reign of Charles II. all who opposed government were called the Argyle whiggamors, contracted into whigs. (See Tory .)

“The south-west counties of Scotland have seldom corn enough to serve them all the year round, and, the northern parts producing more than they used, those in the west went in summer to buy at Leith the stores that came from the north. From the word whiggam, used in driving their horses, all that drove were called the whiggamors, contracted into whigs. Now, in the year before the news came down of