Anacreon of the Guillotine
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Bertrand Barere de Vieuzac (1755-1841), president of the National Convention; so called from the flowery language and convivial jests used by him towards his miserable victims.
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 “Anacreon of the Guillotine” mean?
Bertrand Barere de Vieuzac (1755-1841), president of the National Convention; so called from the flowery language and convivial jests used by him towards his miserable victims.
Is “Anacreon of the Guillotine” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.