1894 Brewer’s / F / Fledgeby
An over-reaching, cowardly sneak, who conceals his dirty bill-broking under the trade name of Pubsey & Co. He is soundly thrashed by Alfred Lammle, and quietly pockets the affront. (Dickens: Mutual Friend.)
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.