Wisdom of Dr
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Dodipoll (about 1596). Sailors find the wind by holding up a wet finger for the breeze to cool that side whence it comes.
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 “Wisdom of Dr” mean?
Dodipoll (about 1596). Sailors find the wind by holding up a wet finger for the breeze to cool that side whence it comes.
Is “Wisdom of Dr” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.