from fascinating charms
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Theocritus. Countrymen spit for luck on a piece of money given to them; boxers spit on their hands, and costermongers on the first money they take in the day for the same reason.
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 “from fascinating charms” mean?
Theocritus. Countrymen spit for luck on a piece of money given to them; boxers spit on their hands, and costermongers on the first money they take in the day for the same reason.
Is “from fascinating charms” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.