E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Passelourdin (3 syl.).
A great rock near Poitiers, where there is a very narrow hole on the edge of a precipice, through which the university freshmen are made to pass, to “matriculate” them. The same is done at Mantua, where the freshmen are made to pass under the arch of St. Longi’nus. Passe-lourdan means “lubber-pass.”
