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Cut Blocks with a Razor
(To). To do something astounding by insignificant means; to do
something more eccentric than inexpedient. According to Dean Swift, to
“make pincushions of sunbeams.” The tale is that Accius, or Attus
Navius, a Roman augur, opposed the king Tarquin the Elder, who wished
to double the number of senators. Tarquin, to throw ridicule on the
angur, sneered at his pretensions of augury, and asked him if he could
do what was then in his thoughts. “Undoubtedly,” replied Navius; and
Tarquin with a laugh, said, “Why, I was thinking whether I could cut
through this whetstone with a razor.” “Cut boldly,” cried Navius, and
the whetstone was cleft in two. This story forms the subject of one of
Bon Gaultier's ballads, and Goldsmith refers to it in his
Retaliation:
In short, `twas his [Burke's] fate, unemployed or in place, sir,
To eat mutton cold, and cut blocks with a razor
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Cut Blocks with a Razor from Infoplease:
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