E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Rock.
A quack; so called from one Rock, who was the “Holloway” of Queen Anne’s reign.
1
“Oh, when his nerves had once received a shock,
Sir Isaac Newton might have gone to Rock.”
Crabbe: Borough.
The Ladies’ Rock. A crag in Scotland under the castle rock of Stirling, where ladies used to witness tournaments.
2
“In the castle hill is a hollow called The Valley about a square acre in extent, used for justings and tournaments. On the south side of the valley is a small rocky pyramidical mount, called The Ladies’ Hill or Rock, where the ladies sat to witness the spectacle.”—Nimme: History of Stirlingshire, p. 282.
People of the Rock. The inhabitants of Hejaz or Arabia Petræa.
3
Captain Rock. A fictitious name assumed by the leader of the Irish insurgents in 1822.
