The Vinegar Bible
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
An edition printed at Oxford in 1717 in which the chapter heading to Luke xx is given as "The parable of the Vinegar" (instead of "Vineyard").
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 Vinegar Bible” mean?
An edition printed at Oxford in 1717 in which the chapter heading to Luke xx is given as "The parable of the Vinegar" (instead of "Vineyard").
Is “The Vinegar Bible” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.