When St
Preserved but no longer current.
George goes on horseback St. Yves goes on foot. In times of war it was supposed that lawyers have^nothing to do. St. George is the patron of soldiers, and St. Yves, or Yvo, an early French judge and lawyer noted for his incorruptibility and just decrees (d. 1303, canonized 1347), patron of lawyers.
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 “When St” mean?
George goes on horseback St. Yves goes on foot. In times of war it was supposed that lawyers have^nothing to do. St. George is the patron of soldiers, and St. Yves, or Yvo, an early French judge and lawyer noted for his incorruptibility and just decrees (d. 1303, canonized 1347), patron of lawyers.
Is “When St” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.