Puritans. Those who affected a greater degree of holiness or purity than their neighbours. They were to the Anglicans and Roman Catholics of the time of Charles I. and the Commonwealth what the Pharisees were to the Jews.
Purple. This dye, in which the people of Tyre excelled, was discovered in the following manner:--One day a favourite dog of Hercules of Tyre ate a species of fish known to the ancients by the name of purpura, and on returning to his master his lips were found to be tinged with the colour, which, after a few experiments, Hercules successfully imitated.
Purse Strings. In the days of our grandfathers, when hasp and clasp purses were unknown, the only kind of purse was a small money bag secured round its mouth by a tape or string. To “tighten one’s purse strings” was therefore to be proof against almsgiving or money-lending.
Putney. Described in ancient documents as Puttaney, or “Putta’s Isle.”
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Quack. The name borne by an itinerant trader, who makes a great noise in open market, quacking like a duck in his efforts to dispose of wares that are not genuine; hence anyone nowadays who follows a profession which he does not rightly understand. A “Quack Doctor” was formerly styled a Quack Salver, from the salves, lotions, and medicines he dispensed to the crowd at the street corners.
Quadragesima Sunday. The first Sunday of Lent, expressing in round numbers forty days before Easter.
Quadrant. The Piccadilly end of Regent Street, so called because it describes a quarter of a circle.
Quadrille. Expresses the French for “a little square,” in allusion to the positions taken up by the dancers.
Quadroon. A Mulatto being half-blooded, like a mule, the offspring of such a woman by a white man is black-blooded to the degree of one-fourth.