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Pound of Flesh

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The whole bargain, the exact terms of the agreement, the bond literatim et verbatim. The allusion is to Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice, who bargained with Antonio for a “pound of flesh,” but was foiled in his suit by Portia, who said the bond was expressly a pound of flesh, and therefore (1) the Jew must cut the exact quantity, neither more nor less than a just pound; and (2) in so doing he must not shed a drop of blood.

 

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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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Potato-talk. (German, Kartoffel gesprach.)
Poteen (pron. pu-teen)
Pother
Pothooks
Potiphar’s Wife
Pots
Potter
Potwallopers
Poult, a young turkey. Pullet
Pound
Pound of Flesh
Poundtext (Peter)
Pourceaugnac (Monsieur de) (pron. Poor-sone-yak)
Poussin
Pouting Place of Princes (The)
Poverty … Love
Powder
Poyning’s Law
P.P., Clerk of this Parish
Præmonstratensian Monks
Præmunire