/ · 1894 Brewer’s · R · Runs
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The tub runs—leaks, or lets out water. In this and all similar phrases the verb run means to “be in a running state.” Thus we have “the ulcer runs,” “the cup runs over,” “the rivers run blood,” “the field runs with blood.”
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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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