A Leap in The Dark “No doubt, we are making a great experiment, and taking a leap in the dark.”—EDWARD, 14111 EARL OP DERBY (the celebrated “Rupert of Debate”), House of Lords, August 6, 1867, speaking with reference to the Reform Bill of that year. In the whirligig of time, these words have been bandied about from pillar to post. Colloquially, any “leap in the dark” is a venture into an...

Like Caesar’s Wife-Above Suspicion “The rare red-brown six penny Barbados, un-perforated is not altogether above suspicion.”—Philatclist (January 1, 1867). This phrase is generally used to indicate any person, or action, which, it is felt, ought to be untainted by any moral flaw. The words “above suspicion” have become so much a part of English idiom that they are often used to suggest a shadow of doubt about the genuineness of anything....

Taken Down A Peg   Remember how in arms and politics, We still have worsted all your holy tricks; Trepanned all your party with intrigue, And took (!) your grandees down a peg. To take a person down a peg means to inflict a mild humiliation. It has occasionally the significance of openly reprimanding and deliberately vexing a braggart or upstart. Pegs have played an important part .in human economy, and...