1595. Shakspeare, Two Gentlemen, i. 1. 106. Here’s too small a
pasture for such store of muttons.
1598. Shakspeare, Merchant of Venice, i. 3. Flesh of muttons,
beefs, or goats.
d.1626. Bacon [quoted by Johnson]. The flesh of muttons is better
tasted where the sheep feed upon wild thyme and wholesome herbs.
d.1627. Hayward [quoted by Johnson]. Within a few days were brought
out of the country two thousand muttons.
1755. Johnson, Eng. Dict., s.v. Mutton. (2) A sheep. Now only in
ludicrous language.
1860. Thackeray, Philip, ch. xx. The appetites of those little ones
were frightful, the temper of Madame la Générale was almost
intolerable, but Charlotte was an angel, and the General was a
mutton—a true mutton.... The brave are often muttons at home.
Bow-wow mutton. See Bow-wow.
To cut one’s mutton, verb. phr. (common).—To dine.
Dead as mutton, phr. (common).—See Dead.
1835. C. Selby, The Widow’s Victim. I’m caught in a trap—dead as
mutton!
Mutton dressed lamb-fashion, subs. phr. (common).—An old woman dressed
young.
To return to one’s muttons, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To hark back to
the point at issue.
1868. Brewer, Phrase & Fable, s.v. Moutons. The phrase is taken
from an old French play, called l’Avocat Pathclin, in which a
woollen-draper charges a shepherd with stealing sheep. In telling
his grievance he kept for ever running away from his subject; and
to throw discredit on the defendant’s attorney, accused him of
stealing a piece of cloth. The judge had to pull him up every
moment with ‘Mais, mon ami, revenons à nos moutons.’
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 8 Nov., p. 2, col. 1. ‘Now to return to our
muttons. Here is a drawer full of M.P.’s, Liberals, Radicals,
Conservatives.’
1890. G. Allen, The Tents of Shem, chap. xi. I desire to live and
die a humble Christian, in complete ignorance of that hard-hearted
science. Let’s return to our muttons.
Who stole the mutton, phr. (obsolete).—See quot.
1868. Brewer, Phrase & Fable, s.v. Mutton. Mutton (Who Stole the)?
This was a common street jeer flung on policemen when the force was
first organized, and rose thus: The first case the force had to
deal with was the theft of a leg of mutton; but they wholly failed
to detect the thief, and the laugh turned against them.
Mutton-chops, subs. (common).—1. A sheep’s head.