| E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| | | Backbone (The). | | |
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The main stay. | 1 |
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“Sober … . practical men … constitute the moral backbone of the country.”—W. Booth: In Darkest England (Part i. 2, p. 17). |
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To the backbone. Thoroughly, as true to the backbone. | 2 |
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“A union man, and a nationalist to the backbone.”—T. Roosevelt: T. H. Benton, chap. v. p. 113. |
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