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Fleshed

.

He fleshed his sword. Used it for the first time. Men fleshed in crueltyi.e. initiated or used to it. A sportsman’s expression. When a sportsman wishes to encourage a young dog or hawk, he will allow it to have the first game it catches for its own eating. This “flesh.” is the first it has tasted, and fleshing its tooth thus gives the creature a craving for similar food. Hence, also, to eat with avidity.

“The wild dog

Shall flesh his tooth on every innocent.”


Shakespeare: 2 Henry IV., iv. 5.

 

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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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Flee the Falcon (To)
Fleeced
Fleet Book Evidence
Fleet Marriages
Fleet Street (London)
Fleet of the Desert
Flemish Account
Flemish School
Flesh and Blood
Flesh-pots
Fleshed
Fleshly School (The)
Fleta
Fleur-de-Luce
Fleurs-de-Lys
Flibbertigibbet
Flic (French)
Flick
Flies
Fling
Fling Herself at my Head (To)