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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

put the beggar on the gentleman en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (UK, idiomatic, obsolete, slang) To follow up something good with something inferior.
    • He called for two gills of ale, and I took my share; but I was determined not to put the beggar on the gentleman, that was my phrase to him, being a fellow workman. And when they brought the two glasses of ale, I took mine, and gave it to a man of the name of Thomas Kay; […] 1838, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, volume 11:
    • And there is the grandmother who says scornfully, if someone makes a good cake with poor icing, "That is putting the beggar on the gentleman". 1979, Harold W. Thompson, Body, Boots, and Britches, page 504:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
put the beggar on the gentleman Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
put the beggar on the gentleman Tense=Past lexicographic
putting the beggar on the gentleman Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
puts the beggar on the gentleman Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic