E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Reply Churlish (The).
Sir, you are no judge; your opinion has no weight with me. Or, to use Touchstone’s illustration: “If a courtier tell me my beard is not well cut, and I disable his judgment, I give him the reply churlish, which is the fifth remove from the lie direct, or rather, the lie direct in the fifth degree.”
