English · Idiom Historical

manoeuvring the apostles

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Robbing Peter to pay Paul, i.e. borrowing of one man to pay another.

Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “manoeuvring the apostles” mean?

Robbing Peter to pay Paul, i.e. borrowing of one man to pay another.

Is “manoeuvring the apostles” formal or informal?

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

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