E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Bardolph.
One of Falstaff’s inferior officers. Falstaff calls him “the knight of the burning lamp,” because his nose was so red, and his face so “full of meteors.” He is a low-bred, drunken swaggerer, without principle, and poor as a church mouse. (Merry Wives; Henry IV., i., ii.)
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“We must have better assurance for Sir John than Bardolf’s. We like not the security.”—Lord Macaulay.
