/ · 1894 Brewer’s · S · Strap Oil
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A beating. A corruption of strap ʹeil, i.e. German theil (a dole). The play is palpable. The “April fool” asks for a pennyworth of strap ʹeil, that is dole of the strap, in French lʹhuile de cotret. (Latin, stroppus.)
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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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