a reed shaken by the wind
Preserved but no longer current.
A person blown about by every wind of doctrine. John the Bap- tist (said Christ) was not a "reed shaken by the wind," but from the very first had a firm belief in the Messiahship of the Son of Mary, and this conviction was not shaken by fear or favour. See Matt, xi, 7.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a reed shaken by the wind” mean?
A person blown about by every wind of doctrine. John the Bap- tist (said Christ) was not a "reed shaken by the wind," but from the very first had a firm belief in the Messiahship of the Son of Mary, and this conviction was not shaken by fear or favour. See Matt, xi, 7.
Is “a reed shaken by the wind” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.