the gentleman in black velvet
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
It was in these words that the 18th-century Jacobites used to toast the mole that made the molehill that caused William Ill's horse to stumble and so brought about his death.
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 “the gentleman in black velvet” mean?
It was in these words that the 18th-century Jacobites used to toast the mole that made the molehill that caused William Ill's horse to stumble and so brought about his death.
Is “the gentleman in black velvet” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.