The Vale of Tears
Preserved but no longer current.
This world (cp, BACA). Tec, or 'Tec. Slang for a detective. Te Deum, The (tede'um). This liturgical hymn, so called from the opening words of the Latin original, Te Deum laudamus ("Thee God, we praise"), was formerly ascribed to St. Ambrose, but is probably of later date. The story was that St. Ambrose improvised it while baptizing St. Augustine (386).
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 Vale of Tears” mean?
This world (cp, BACA). Tec, or 'Tec. Slang for a detective. Te Deum, The (tede'um). This liturgical hymn, so called from the opening words of the Latin original, Te Deum laudamus ("Thee God, we praise"), was formerly ascribed to St. Ambrose, but is probably of later date. The story was that St. Ambrose improvised it while baptizing St. Augustine (386).
Is “The Vale of Tears” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.