Preston and his Mastiffs
Preserved but no longer current.
To oppose Preston and his mastiffs is to be foolhardy, to resist what is irresistible. Christopher Preston estab- lished the Bear Garden at Hockley-in-the- Hole in the time of Charles II, and was killed in 1700 by one of his own bears.
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 “Preston and his Mastiffs” mean?
To oppose Preston and his mastiffs is to be foolhardy, to resist what is irresistible. Christopher Preston estab- lished the Bear Garden at Hockley-in-the- Hole in the time of Charles II, and was killed in 1700 by one of his own bears.
Is “Preston and his Mastiffs” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.