philip sober
Preserved but no longer current.
When a woman who asked Philip of Macedon to do her justice was snubbed by the petulant monarch, she ex- claimed, "Philip, I shall appeal against this judgment." " Appeal!'* thundered the enraged king, "and to whom will you appeal?" "To Philip sober," was her reply.
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 “philip sober” mean?
When a woman who asked Philip of Macedon to do her justice was snubbed by the petulant monarch, she ex- claimed, "Philip, I shall appeal against this judgment." " Appeal!'* thundered the enraged king, "and to whom will you appeal?" "To Philip sober," was her reply.
Is “philip sober” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.