Stolen Things are Sweet

A sop filched from the dripping-pan, fruit procured by stealth, and game illicitly taken, have the charm of dexterity to make them the more palatable. Solomon says, “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret [i.e. by stealth] is pleasant.”

“From busie cooks we love to steal a bit

Behind their backs, and that in corners eat;

Nor need we here the reason why entreat;

All know the proverb, ‘Stolen bread is sweet.ʹ”

History of Joseph, n. d.

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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.