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Whisʹkers

.

A security for money. John de Castro of Portugal, having captured the castle of Diu, in India, borrowed of the inhabitants of Goa 1,000 pistoles for the maintenance of his fleet, and gave one of his whiskers as security of payment, saying, “All the gold in the world cannot equal the value of this natural ornament, which I deposit in your hands.”

 

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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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Whelps
Whetstone
Whetstone of Witte (The)
Whig
Whiggism
Whip (A)
Whip
Whip-dog Day
Whip with Six Strings (The)
Whipping Boy
Whiskers
Whisky
Whisky-drinker
Whist
Whistle (noun)
Whistle (verb)
Whistle Down the Wind (To)
Whistle for the Wind
White
White Bird (The)
White Brethren or White-clad Brethren