/ · 1894 Brewer’s · A · Aspersions
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
properly means “sprinklings” or “scatterings.” Its present meaning is base insinuations or slanders.
“No sweet aspersion [rain] shall the heavens let fall
To make this contract grow.”
Shakespeare: The Tempest, iv. 1.
Casting aspersions on one, i.e. sprinkling with calumnies, slandering or insinuating misconduct.
“I defy all the world to cast a just aspersion on my character.”—Fielding: Tom Jones.
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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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