reynard's globe of glass
Preserved but no longer current.
Reynard, in Rey- nard the Fox (see above), said he had sent this invaluable treasure to her majesty the queen as a present; but it never came to hand, inasmuch as it had no existence except in the imagination of the fox. It was supposed to reveal what was being done — no matter how far off — and also to afford information on any subject that the person consulting it wished to know. Your gift was like the globe of glass of Master Reynard.
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 “reynard's globe of glass” mean?
Reynard, in Rey- nard the Fox (see above), said he had sent this invaluable treasure to her majesty the queen as a present; but it never came to hand, inasmuch as it had no existence except in the imagination of the fox. It was supposed to reveal what was being done — no matter how far off — and also to afford information on any subject that the person consulting it wished to know. Your gift was like the globe of glass of Master Reynard.
Is “reynard's globe of glass” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.