Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—V

Venice Glass

The drinking glasses of the Middle Ages, made at Venice, were said to break into shivers if poison were put into them.

Doge. 

`Tis said that our Venetian crystal has
Such pure antipathy to poison, as
To burst, if aught of venom touches it.

Byron: The Two Foscari, v. 1.

Venice glass, from its excellency, became a synonym for perfection.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Venice of the West
Venial Sin
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