Valentine and Orson
Preserved but no longer current.
The Good Samaritan* Noah's Ark, Simon the Tanner, and Gospel Oak all have a biblical flavour, and old ecclesiastical manorial rights are responsible for many tavern signs (see The Three Kings, below). Myth and legend are represented by houses named The Apollo, Hercules, Phcenix, KingLud, Merlin's Cave, Man in the Moon, Punch, Robin Hood, The Moonrakers, etc.
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 “Valentine and Orson” mean?
The Good Samaritan* Noah's Ark, Simon the Tanner, and Gospel Oak all have a biblical flavour, and old ecclesiastical manorial rights are responsible for many tavern signs (see The Three Kings, below). Myth and legend are represented by houses named The Apollo, Hercules, Phcenix, KingLud, Merlin's Cave, Man in the Moon, Punch, Robin Hood, The Moonrakers, etc.
Is “Valentine and Orson” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.