I've got a hunch someone on the list can answer this query, sent to me by Cormac
O Cuilleanain of Trinity College Dublin:
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Dear George,
I wonder if you could advise? A person I know is curious about the origin
of the following French phrase: "rameau delabre d'une branche fletrie"
("rameau de/labre/ d'une branche fle/trie"). He believes it comes from a French
translation of Shakespeare, but a search through a Shakespeare concordance in
English hasn't helped. I looked up words such as ruin, wither, spoil, branch,
leaf, flower, without coming on any very close parallels.
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I'm wondering if this might in fact be earlier than Shakespeare, if not medieval;
any advice?
Many thanks,
George
George Ferzoco tel ++ 44 (0)116 252 2654
Director of Studies for Italian fax ++ 44 (0)116 252 3633
University of Leicester e-mail [log in to unmask]
School of Modern Languages
LEICESTER LE1 7RH UNITED KINGDOM
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