/ · 1894 Brewer’s · B · Banbury
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A Banbury-man—i.e. a Puritan (Ben Jonson); a bigot. From the reign of Elizabeth to that of Charles II. Banbury was noted for its number of Puritans and its religious “zeal.”
As thin as Banbury cheese. In Jack Drum’s Entertainment we read, “You are like a Banbury cheese, nothing but paring;” and Bardolph compares Slender to Banbury cheese (Merry Wives, i. 1). The Banbury cheese is a rich milk cheese about an inch in thickness.
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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.