and yet partake no venom
Preserved but no longer current.
Winter's Tale, ii, 1. and in the examination into the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, one of the witnesses deposed "that the countess wished him to get the strongest poison that he could . . ." Accordingly he brought seven great spiders.
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 “and yet partake no venom” mean?
Winter's Tale, ii, 1. and in the examination into the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, one of the witnesses deposed "that the countess wished him to get the strongest poison that he could . . ." Accordingly he brought seven great spiders.
Is “and yet partake no venom” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.