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Topham

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Take him, Topham. Catch him if you can; lay hold of him, tip-staff. Topham was the Black Rod of the House of Commons in the reign of Charles II., very active in apprehending “suspects” during the supposed conspiracy revealed by Titus Oates. “Take him, Topham,” became a proverbial saying of the time, much the same as “Who stole the donkey?” “How are your poor feet?” and so on.

“Till ‘Take him, Tophamʹ became a proverb, and a formidable one, in the mouth of the people.”—Sir Walter Scott: Peveril of the Peak, chap. xx.

 

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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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Tool
Tooley Street
Toom Tabard [empty jacket]
Tooth
Tooth and Egg
Tooth and Nail
Top
Top-heavy
Top Ropes
Top-Sawyer
Topham
Tophet
Topic
Topsy
Topsy-turvy
Toralva
Tornea
Torquato—i.e
Torquemada (Inquisitor-general of Spain, 1420–1498)
Torr’s MSS.
Torralba (Doctor)