| E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| | | Sheet Anchor. | | |
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That is my sheet anchor—my chief stay, my chief dependence. The sheet anchor is the largest and heaviest of all. The word is a corruption of Shote-anchor, the anchor shot or thrown out in stress of weather. Many ships carry more than one sheet-anchor outside the ship’s waist. | 1 |
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“The surgeon no longer bleeds. If you ask him ‘why this neglect of what was once considered the sheet anchor of practice in certain diseases?’ he will …”—The Times. |
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