chatterton betrayed his forgeries
Preserved but no longer current.
He wrote in a poem purporting to be the work of a 15th- century priest, "Life and its goods I scorn," but the word was not in use till more than two centuries later than his supposed time, it (hit) and his being the possessive case.
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 “chatterton betrayed his forgeries” mean?
He wrote in a poem purporting to be the work of a 15th- century priest, "Life and its goods I scorn," but the word was not in use till more than two centuries later than his supposed time, it (hit) and his being the possessive case.
Is “chatterton betrayed his forgeries” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.