E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Death’s Head.
Bawds and procuresses used to wear a ring bearing the impression of a death’s head in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Allusions not uncommon in plays of the period.
1
“Sell some of my cloaths to buy thee a death’s-head, and put [it] upon thy middle finger. Your least considering bawds do so much.”—Messenger: Old Laws, iv. 1.
