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Braggadoʹchio

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A braggart. One who is very valiant with his tongue, but a great coward at heart. A barking dog that bites not. The character is from Spenser’s Faërie Queene, and a type of the “Intemperance of the Tongue.” After a time, like the jackdaw in borrowed plumes, Braggadochio is stripped of all his “glories”: his shield is claimed by Sir Marʹinel; his lady is proved by the golden girdle to be the false Florimel; his horse is claimed by Sir Guyon; Talus shaves off his beard and scourges his squire; and the pretender sneaks off amidst the jeers of everyone. It is thought that the poet had Felipe of Spain in his eye when he drew this character. (Faërie Queene, iii. 8, 10; v. 3.)

 

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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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Boz
Bozzy
Brabançonne
Brabançons
Brace
Brace of Shakes
Brad amant or Bradamante
Bradshaw’s Guide
Bradwardine (Rose)
Brag
Braggadochio
Bragi
Bragi’s Apples
Bragi’s Story
Bragmardo
Brahma (Indian)
Brahmi
Brahmin
Bramble (Matthew)
Bran
Bran-new or Brand-new