Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—C

Crush

To crush a bottle —i.e. drink one. Cf. Milton's crush the sweet poison. The idea is that of crushing the grapes. Shakespeare has also burst a bottle in the same sense (Induction of Taming the Shrew). (See Crack.)

“Come and crush a cup of wine.”

Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, i. 2.

To crush a fly on a wheel.
To crack a nut with a steam-hammer; to employ power far too valuable for the purpose to be accomplished. The wheel referred to is the rack. (See Break A Butterfly.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Crush-room
Crusades
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