public-house signs
Preserved but no longer current.
Much of a nation's his- tory, and more of its manners and feelings,, may be gleaned from its public-house signs. A very large number of them are selected out of compliment to the lord of the manor, either because he is the "great man" of the neigh- bourhood, or because the proprietor is some servant whom "it delighted the lord to honour.
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 “public-house signs” mean?
Much of a nation's his- tory, and more of its manners and feelings,, may be gleaned from its public-house signs. A very large number of them are selected out of compliment to the lord of the manor, either because he is the "great man" of the neigh- bourhood, or because the proprietor is some servant whom "it delighted the lord to honour.
Is “public-house signs” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.