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Swear by my Sword (Hamlet, i. 5)

that is, “by the cross on the hilt of my sword.” Again in Winter’s Tale, “Swear by this sword thou wilt perform my bidding” (ii. 3). Holinshed says, “Warwick kisses the cross of King Edward’s sword, as it were a vow to his promise,” and Decker says, “He has sworn to me on the cross of his pure Toleʹdo” (Old Fortunatus).

 

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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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Swan of Cambray (The)
Swan of Mantua (The), or The Mantuan Swan
Swan of Meander (The)
Swan of Padua (The)
Swans … Geese
Swanimote
Swarga
Swashbuckler
Swear
Swear Black is White (To)
Swear by my Sword (Hamlet, i. 5)
Sweat
Sweating Sickness
Swedenborgians
Swedish Nightingale
Sweep
Sweepstakes (A)
Sweet as sugar
Sweet Singer of Israel
Sweet Singers
Sweet Voices