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Gammerstang commented on the word lying for the whetstone
(noun) - (1) It is a custom in the North, when a man tells the greatest lie in the company, to reward him with a whetstone, which is called lying for the whetstone. --Joseph Budworth's Fortnight's Rambles to the Lakes, 1792 (2) The term whetstone, for a liar, or for the prize for lying, was a standing jest among our ancestors. --Frederick Elworthy's Specimens of English Dialects, 1778 (3) Lying with us is so loved and allowed that there are many tymes gamings and prizes to encourage one to outlye another. And what shall he gaine that gets the victorie in lying? He shall have a silver whetstone for his labour. --Thomas Lupton's Too Good to Be True, 1580
April 23, 2018