line before
Preserved but no longer current.
The custom was at its prime in the old sailing-ship days. A sailor crudely dressed as Father Neptune, accompanied by a yet cruder Amphitnte appeared over the ship's side, followed by yet others, naked to the waist and painted with red ochre or the like. The neophytes were then seized, lathered with some horrible compound and while still struggling were forcibly shaved with a piece of rusty hoop iron.
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 “line before” mean?
The custom was at its prime in the old sailing-ship days. A sailor crudely dressed as Father Neptune, accompanied by a yet cruder Amphitnte appeared over the ship's side, followed by yet others, naked to the waist and painted with red ochre or the like. The neophytes were then seized, lathered with some horrible compound and while still struggling were forcibly shaved with a piece of rusty hoop iron.
Is “line before” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.