Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—R

Roper

Margaret Roper was buried with the head of her father, Sir Thomas More, in her arms.

Her, who clasped in her last trance
Her murdered father's head.

Tennyson.

Mistress Roper. A cant name given to the marines by British sailors. The wit, of course, lies in the awkward way that marines handle the ship's ropes.

To marry Mistress Roper
is to enlist in the marines.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Roque
Ropes
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