Tarpeian Rock
Preserved but no longer current.
Sometimes used figuratively, as in Massinger's New Way to Pay Old Debts, where Sir Giles Overreach calls Greedy a ''barathrum of the shambles" (Hi, 2), mean- ing that he was a sink into which any kind of food or offal could be thrown.
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 “Tarpeian Rock” mean?
Sometimes used figuratively, as in Massinger's New Way to Pay Old Debts, where Sir Giles Overreach calls Greedy a ''barathrum of the shambles" (Hi, 2), mean- ing that he was a sink into which any kind of food or offal could be thrown.
Is “Tarpeian Rock” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.