II and long after
Preserved but no longer current.
The horse was made of oak, the back was a sharp ridge, supported on four tall legs. The victim was seated on the ridge, with a firelock fastened to each foot and kept in this painful position for the term of the sentence.
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 “II and long after” mean?
The horse was made of oak, the back was a sharp ridge, supported on four tall legs. The victim was seated on the ridge, with a firelock fastened to each foot and kept in this painful position for the term of the sentence.
Is “II and long after” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.