Thyrsis, a herdsman introduced in the Idylls of Theocrĭtos, and in Virgil’s Eclogue, vii. Any shepherd or rustic is so called.
Hard by, a cottage chimney smokes
From betwixt two agêd oaks,
Where Corydon and Thyrsis met,
Are at their savory dinner set.
Milton, L’Allegro (1638).
Thyrsus, a long pole with an ornamental head of ivy, vine leaves, or a fir cone, carried by Bacchus and by his votaries at the celebration of his rites. It was emblematic of revelry and drunkenness.
[I will] abash the frantic thyrsus with my song.
Akenside, Hymn to the Naiads (1767).
Tibbs (Beau), a poor, clever, dashing young spark, who had the happy art of fancying he knew all the haut monde, and that all the monde knew him; that his garret was the choicest spot in London, for its commanding view of the Thames; that his wife was a lady of distinguished airs; and that his infant daughter would marry a peer. He took off his hat to every man and woman of fashion, and made out that dukes, lords, duchesses, and ladies addressed him simply as Ned. His hat was pinched up with peculiar smartness; his looks were pale, thin, and sharp, round his neck he wore a broad black ribbon, and in his bosom a glass pin; his coat was trimmed with tarnished lace; and his stockings were silk. Beau Tibbs interlarded his rapid talk with fashionable oaths, such as, “Upon my soul! egad!”