Nereus and his wife Doris
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Their palace was at the bottom of the Mediterranean; his hair was sea-weed.
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 “Nereus and his wife Doris” mean?
Their palace was at the bottom of the Mediterranean; his hair was sea-weed.
Is “Nereus and his wife Doris” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.