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Yellow-boy (A)

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A bankrupt. The French call a bankrupt Safranier, and Aller au safran means to be made a bankrupt. The allusion is to the ancient custom of painting the house of a traitor yellow. It will be remembered that the house of the Petit Bourbon was long so stigmatised on account of the treason of the Constable Bourbon.

 

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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.

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Yankee
Yarmouth Bloater
Yarmouth Capons
Yawn
Yea, Yes
Year
Yellow
Yellow-bellies
Yellow Book of France
Yellow-boy (A)
Yellow-boy (A)
Yellow Caps
Yellow Dwarf
Yellow Jack
Yellow Jack (The)
Yellowhammer (The)
Yemen
Yeoman (A)
Yeoman’s Service
Yeomen of the Guard
Yeth-Hounds