E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Peter.
(See BLUE PETER.)
1
Great Peter. A bell in York Minster, weighing 10 3/4 tons, and hung in 1845.
2
Lord Peter. The Pope in Swift’s Tale of a Tub.
3
Rob Peter to pay Paul. (See ROBBING.)
4
St. Peter. Patron saint of fishers and fishmongers, being himself a fisherman.
5
St. Peter, in Christian art, is represented as an old man, bald, but with a flowing beard; he is usually dressed in a white mantle and blue tunic, and holds in his hand a book or scroll. His peculiar symbols are the keys, and a sword, the instrument of his martyrdom.
6
He has got St. Peter’s fingers—i.e. the fingers of a thief. The allusion is to the fish caught by St. Peter with a piece of money in its mouth. They say that a thief has a fish-hook on every finger.
