To dine with Mohammed
Preserved but no longer current.
To die, and dine in paradise. To dine with the cross-legged knights. That is, to have no dinner at all. Cp. "to dine with Duke Humphrey." The knights referred to are the stone effigies of the Temple Church, where, at one time, lawyers met their clients.
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 “To dine with Mohammed” mean?
To die, and dine in paradise. To dine with the cross-legged knights. That is, to have no dinner at all. Cp. "to dine with Duke Humphrey." The knights referred to are the stone effigies of the Temple Church, where, at one time, lawyers met their clients.
Is “To dine with Mohammed” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.