John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
10456 Appendix John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 10456 |
| AUTHOR: | Appendix |
| QUOTATION: | Rowland for an Oliver. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | These were two of the most famous in the list of Charlemagne’s twelve peers; and their exploits are rendered so ridiculously and equally extravagant by the old romancers, that from thence arose that saying amongst our plain and sensible ancestors of giving one a “Rowland for his Oliver,” to signify the matching one incredible lie with another.—Thomas Warburton. |