Grocott & Ward, comps. Grocott’s Familiar Quotations, 6th ed. 189-?.
Hangman
The sleeping hangman ties the fatal noose,
Nor unsuccessful waits for dead men’s shoes.
Swift.—On Dreams.
For obtaining suits: whereof
The hangman hath no lean wardrobe.
Shakespeare.—King Henry IV., Part I. Act I. Scene 2. (Falstaff to the Prince.)