Carpet The magic carpet
Preserved but no longer current.
The carpet which, to all appearances, was worthless, but which, if anyone sat thereon, would transport him instantaneously to the place he wished to go, is one of the stock properties of Eastern wonder-tales and romance.
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 “Carpet The magic carpet” mean?
The carpet which, to all appearances, was worthless, but which, if anyone sat thereon, would transport him instantaneously to the place he wished to go, is one of the stock properties of Eastern wonder-tales and romance.
Is “Carpet The magic carpet” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.