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Rothschild

(Encyclopedia) RothschildRothschildrŏthˈchīld, Ger. rōtˈshĭlt [key], prominent family of European bankers. The first important member was Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743–1812), son of a money changer…

Brewer's: Rothschild

[Red Shield]. Mayer Amschel, in 1763, made his appearance in Hanover barefoot, with a sack on his shoulders and a bundle of rags on his back. Successful in trade, he returned to Frankfort…

Rothschild, Nathan Meyer

(Encyclopedia) Rothschild, Nathan Meyer, 1777–1836, British banker, b. Frankfurt, Germany; of the famous Rothschild family. He went to England in 1797, was naturalized in 1804, and opened a business…

Brewer's: Fiddle

(Latin, fidis or fides). He was first fiddle. Chief man, the most distinguished of the company. To play second fiddle. To take a subordinate part. The allusion is to the leader of…

Hartford, John Cowan

(Encyclopedia) Hartford, John Cowan, 1937- 20, American singer, songwriter, and banjo player, b. St. Louis, Mo., as John Cowan Harford, Washington…

Brewer's: Fiddle About

(To). To fiddle about a thing means to “play” business. To fiddle with one's fingers is to move them about as a fiddler moves his fingers up and down the fiddle-strings. “Mere trifling, or…

Brewer's: Fiddle-faddle

It is all fiddle-faddle. Rubbishy nonsense; talk not worth attention. A ricochet word, of which we have a vast number, as “flim-flam,” “helter-skelter,” “wishy-washy,” etc. To fiddle is to…

The Devil's Dictionary: Fiddle

by Ambrose Bierce FICKLENESSFIDELITYFIDDLE -n. An instrument to tickle human ears by friction of a horse's tail on the entrails of a cat. To Rome said Nero: "If to smoke you turn I…

Brewer's: Cat and Fiddle

a public-house sign, is a corruption of Caton le fidele, meaning Caton, Governor of Calais. Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894Cat and KittensCat and Dog A B…

Monroe, Bill

(Encyclopedia) Monroe, Bill (William Smith Monroe), 1911–96, country singer, musician, and songwriter, often called the “father of bluegrass,” b.…