English · Idiom Historical

magic garters

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

In the old romances, etc., garters made of the strips of a young hare's skin saturated with motherwort. Those who wore them excelled m* speed.

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.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “magic garters” mean?

In the old romances, etc., garters made of the strips of a young hare's skin saturated with motherwort. Those who wore them excelled m* speed.

Is “magic garters” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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