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King of the Sea (The)

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The herring.

“The head of an average-sized whale is from fifteen to sixteen feet [about one-third the length], and the lips open some six or eight feet; yet to such a mouth there is scarcely any throat, not sufficiently large to allow a herring to pass down it. This little scaly fellow [the herring], some fourteen inches in length, would choke a monster whale, and is hence called ‘the king of the sea.ʹ”—C. Thomson: Autobiography, p. 132.

 

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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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King of Spain’s Trampeter (The)
King of Terrors
King of Waters
King of Yvetot (pron. Ev-to)
King of the Bean (roi de la fève)
King of the Beggars
King of the Forest
King of the Herrings (The)
King of the Jungle (The)
King of the Peak (The)
King of the Sea (The)
King of the Teign
King of the World (Shah-Jehan)
King of the World
King Chosen by the Neighing of a Horse (A)
King Over the Water (The)
King’s [or Queen’s] Bench
King’s Cave
King’s Chair
King’s Crag
King’s Cross