napier's bones
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
See NAPIER. One end is sure to be bone. It won't come up to expectation. "All is not gold that glitters.
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 “napier's bones” mean?
See NAPIER. One end is sure to be bone. It won't come up to expectation. "All is not gold that glitters.
Is “napier's bones” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.