Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—T

Turnspit Dog

One who has all the work but none of the profit; he turns the spit but eats not of the roast. The allusion is to the dog used formerly to turn the spit in roasting. Topsel says, “They go into a wheel, which they turn round about with the weight of their bodies, so dilligently ... that no drudge ... can do the feate more cunningly.” (1697.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Turpin
Turnip Townsend
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