/ · 1894 Brewer’s · B · Barbed Steed (a corruption of barded)
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
A horse in armour. (French, bardé, caparisoned.)
“And now, instead of mounting barbëd steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber,
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.”
Shakespeare: Richard III., act i. 1.
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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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