| Share
 
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—H

Herod

A child-killer; from Herod the Great, who ordered the massacre of the babes in Bethlehem. (Matt. ii. 16).

To out-herod Herod.
To out-do in wickedness, violence, or rant, the worst of tyrants. Herod, who destroyed the babes of Bethlehem, was made (in the ancient mysteries) a ranting, roaring tyrant; the extravagance of his rant being the measure of his bloody-mindedness. (See Pilate.)

“Oh, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious, periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to latters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundings ... it out-herods Herod.” —Shakespeare: Hamlet, iii. 2.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Herod's Death
Heroic Verse
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

More on Herod from Infoplease:

Related Content

24 X 7

Private Tutor

Click Here for Details
24 x 7 Tutor Availability
Unlimited Online Tutoring
1-on-1 Tutoring
Explore Free Homework Help , Grade 11 Math