E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Translator (A).
A cobbler, who translates or transmogrifies two pairs of worn-out shoes into one pair capable of being worn; a reformer, who tries to cobble the laws.
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“The dull à la mode reformers or translators have pulled the church all to pieces and know not how to patch it up again.”—Mercurius Pragmaticus (March, 1647, No. 27).
