the marrow-bone stage
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Walking. The leg- bone is the marrow-bone of beef and mutton, and the play is on Marylebone (London), formerly pronounced "Marrybun.
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 marrow-bone stage” mean?
Walking. The leg- bone is the marrow-bone of beef and mutton, and the play is on Marylebone (London), formerly pronounced "Marrybun.
Is “the marrow-bone stage” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.