Chapter Clytie to Cob of C by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Coals of Fire To heap coals of fire on the head of a foe. To melt down his animosity by deeds of kindness.

“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink, for thou shalt beap coals of fire upon his head.” Prov xxv. 21, 22.

Coaling in theatrical slang, means telling phrases and speeches, as, “My part is full of `coaling lines.' ” Coal being money, means profit, whence coaling. (See p. 265, To Post The Goal ...)

Coalition Government A Government formed by various parties by a mutual surrender of principles. The administration of Lord North and Charles Fox, 1783, was a coalition, but it fell to pieces in a few months. That of Lord Salisbury with the old Whig party headed by Lord Hartington was a coalition (1886- 1892).

Coast Clear Is the coast clear? The coast is clear. There is no likelihood of interference. None of the coast-guards are about.

Coast Men of Attica The merchant class who lived along the coast-lands (Parali).

Coasting Lead (A). A sounding lead used in shallow water.

Coasting Trade Trade between ports of the same country carried on by coasting vessels.

Coasting Waiter An officer of Customs in the Port of London, whose duty it was to visit and make a return of coasting vessels trading from one part of the kingdom to another, and which (from the nature of their cargo) were not required to report or make entry at the Custom House. These vessels were liable to the payment of certain small dues, which it was the duty of the Coasting Waiter to exact. He was also expected to search the cargo, that no contraband goods were illicitly on board. Like Tide Waiters, these Coasting Waiters were abolished in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and their duties have since been performed by the Examining Officer. Their salary was about 40 a year.

Coat
   Cut your coat according to your cloth. Curtail your expenses to the amount of your income; live within your means. Si non possis quod velis, velis id quod possis.
   Near is my coat, but nearer is my skin. “Tunica pallío propior est.” “Ego proximus mihi.”
   To baste one's coat. To dust his jacket; to beat him.
   To wear the king's coat. To be a soldier.
   Turning one's coat for luck. It was an ancient superstition that this was a charm against evil spirits. (See Turncoat)

“William found
A means for our deliverance: `Turn your cloaks,
Quoth hee, `for Pucke is busy in these oakes.' ”
Bishop Corbett: Iter Boreale

Coat of Arms A surcoat worn by knights over their armour, decorated with devices by which heralds described the wearer. Hence the heraldic device of a family. Coat-armour was invented in the Crusading expeditions, to distinguish the various noble warriors when wrapped in complete steel, and it was introduced into England by Richard Lion-heart.

Coat of many Colours (Gen. xxxvii. 3). Harmer, in his Observations (vol. ii. p. 386), informs us that “many colours” in this connection does not mean striped, flowered embroidered, or “printed” with several colours, but having “divers pieces of different colours sewed together” in patchwork. The Hebrew word is passeem. In 2 Sam. xiii. 18 we are told that king's daughters wore a garment of many colours or divers pieces. Dr. Adam Clarke says that similar garments “are worn by persons of distinction in Persia, India, and some parts of China to the present day.” The great offence was this: Jacob was a sheik, and by giving Joseph a “prince's robe” he virtually announced him his heir. (See Divers Colours )

Coats, Hosen, and Hats (Dan. iii, 21). These were not articles of dress, but badges of office. It will be recollected that Shadrach and his two companions had recently been set over provinces of Babylon; and Nebuchadnezzar degraded them by insisting on their wearing their insignia of office. The word cap would be better than “hat,” their caps of office; and sandàls would be better than “hosen.” Coats or cloaks have always designated office. “Hosen” means what the Romans called calceus patricius, which were