Tobias Smollett
Tobias Smollett
Tobias George Smollettwas a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Randomand The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, which influenced later novelists such as Charles Dickens. His novels were amended liberally by printers; a definitive edition of each of his works was edited by Dr. O. M. Brack, Jr. to correct variants...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth19 March 1721
zest giving ham
One wit, like a knuckle of ham in soup, gives a zest and flavour to the dish, but more than one serves only to spoil the pottage.
numbers three number-three
Number three is always fortunate.
snares falsehood
False as the fowler's artful snare.
learning science superficial-knowledge
A mere index hunter, who held the eel of science by the tail. Index-hunter is a term used mockingly, meaning one who acquires superficial knowledge merely by consulting indexes. The '[holding] the eel of science by the tail' allusion was used in 1728 by Alexander Pope (q.v.).