John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
86 John Heywood 1497?-1580? John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 86 |
| AUTHOR: | John Heywood (1497?–1580?) |
| QUOTATION: | While betweene two stooles my taile goe to the ground. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Proverbes. Part i. Chap. iii. |
| Note 1. Entre deux arcouns chet cul à terre (Between two stools one sits on the ground).—Les Proverbes del Vilain, MS. Bodleian. Circa 1303. S’asseoir entre deux selles le cul à terre (One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools).—Francis Rabelais: book i. chap. ii. [back] |