E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Herring-pond (The).
The British Channel; the Atlantic, which separates America from the British Isles; the sea between Australasia and the United Kingdom, are all so called.
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“He’ll plague you now he’s come over the herring-pond.”—Sir W. Scott: Guy Mannering, chap. xxxiv.
