E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Draw’cansir.
A burlesque tyrant in The Rehearsal, by G. Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (1672). He kills every one, “sparing neither friend nor foe.” The name stands for a blustering braggart, and the farce is said to have been a satire on Dryden’s inflated tragedies. (See BAYES, BOBADIL.)
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“[He] frights his mistress, snubs up kings, battles armies, and does what he will, without regard to numbers, good sense, or justice.”—Bayes: The Rehearsal.
