pot valiant
Preserved but no longer current.
Made courageous by liquor. Pot-wallopers, before the passing of the Reform Bill (1832), were those who claimed a vote as householders, because they had boiled their own pot at their own fireplace in the parish for six months. The earlier form was pot-waller, from A.S. weallan, to boil.
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 “pot valiant” mean?
Made courageous by liquor. Pot-wallopers, before the passing of the Reform Bill (1832), were those who claimed a vote as householders, because they had boiled their own pot at their own fireplace in the parish for six months. The earlier form was pot-waller, from A.S. weallan, to boil.
Is “pot valiant” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.