bearded women
Preserved but no longer current.
St. Paula the Bearded, a Spanish saint of uncertain date of whom it is said that when being pursued by a man she fled to a crucifix and at once a beard and moustache appeared on her face, thus dis- guising her and saving her from her would-be ravisher.
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 “bearded women” mean?
St. Paula the Bearded, a Spanish saint of uncertain date of whom it is said that when being pursued by a man she fled to a crucifix and at once a beard and moustache appeared on her face, thus dis- guising her and saving her from her would-be ravisher.
Is “bearded women” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.