This famous phrase is a quote from Matthew’s Gospel: ‘Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,’ writes the Evangelist, ‘neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.’
This dramatic image — which of course gains extra power from the fact that pigs are considered unclean animals by orthodox Jews—became a favorite in the Middle Ages, first mentioned in English by William Langland in Piers Plowman in the fourteenth century. Charles Dickens used the phrase in his 1848 novel Dombey and Son, to mean ‘doing a thankless thing.’
But the most famous occurrence, which gives a twist to the ancient meaning, is in a story about Dorothy Parker, the great American humorist of the 1920s. ‘Age before beauty,’ said a cheeky young woman while holding a door open for Parker to pass.
In the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, there were so many things we…
Thanksgiving is the time to be thankful, express our gratitude, get together with our families…
If you (and your wallet) are ready to head out for some gift shopping, why…
For one reason or another stocking stuffers are usually forgotten until the very end of…
Have you spent more time than usual indoors over the last couple of months? If…
We’ve all binged watched home improvement videos online at least once in our lives, right?…