a tub of naked children
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Emblematical in religious paintings of St. Nicholas (q.v.), in allusion to the two boys murdered and placed in a pickling tub by a landlord, but raised to life again by this saint.
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 tub of naked children” mean?
Emblematical in religious paintings of St. Nicholas (q.v.), in allusion to the two boys murdered and placed in a pickling tub by a landlord, but raised to life again by this saint.
Is “a tub of naked children” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.