E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Poor Tassel (A).
A poor hand, a bad workman, no great shakes. The tassel or tiercel was a male goshawk, restricted to princes, and called a “tassel gentle.”
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“Venturing this opinion to the brick-maker, he laughingly replied, ‘Come, then, and try your hand at a brick.’ The trial, however, proved me a ‘poor tassel,’ amidst the jeers and laughter of the men.”—C. Thomson: Autobiography, p. 52.
