A dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

One ENGLISHMAN can beat three Frenchmen
Now also used of other nationalities, and in different proportions.

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  1599 SHAKESPEARE Henry V III. vi. 144 When they were in health. .. I thought upon one pair of English legs Did march three Frenchmen. 1745 H. WALPOLE Letter 13 July (1941) IX. 17 We, who formerly.. could any one of us beat three Frenchmen, are now so degenerated that three Frenchmen can evidently beat one Englishman. 1834 MARRYAT Peter Simple III. viii. My men.. there are three privateers. .. It’s just a fair match for you—one Englishman can always beat three Frenchmen. 1851 G. BORROW Lavengro I. xxvi. In the days of pugilism it was no vain boast to say, that one Englishman was a match for two of t’other race [the French]. 1913 A. LUNN Harrovians i. Peter knew that an Englishman can tackle three foreigners, and forgot that the inventor of this theory took care to oppose three Englishmen to one foreigner as often as possible. 1981 London Review of Books 16 July-5 Aug. 5 Spain’s conquest of Mexico ‘gave Europeans a new and potent myth’, the conviction of one European as equal to twenty others. "boasting; national characteristics
  

An ENGLISHMAN’s house is his castle

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  1581 R. MULCASTER Positions xl. He is the appointer of his owne circumstance, and his house is his castle. 1642 T. FULLER Fast Sermon 28 It was wont to be said A mans house is his Castle but if this Castle of late hath proved unable to secure any, let them make their conscience their castle. 1791 BOSWELL Life of Johnson II. 284 In London.. a man’s own house is truly his castle, in which he can be in perfect safety from intrusion. 1837 DICKENS Pickwick Papers xxiv. Some people maintains that an Englishman’s house is his castle. That’s gammon [nonsense]. 1998 Garden (Royal Horticultural Society) May 313 An Englishman’s house may be his castle, but does it follow that his garden is his forest? 2002 Washington Times 1 Aug. A14 An Englishman’s home is no longer his castle. Thanks to gun control zealots, England has become the land of choice for criminals. "home; national characteristics