John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
10424 Appendix John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 10424 |
| AUTHOR: | Appendix |
| QUOTATION: | Dead as Chelsea. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | To get Chelsea; to obtain the benefit of that hospital. “Dead as Chelsea, by God!” an exclamation uttered by a grenadier at Fontenoy, on having his leg carried away by a cannon-ball.—Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1758 (quoted by Brady, “Varieties of Literature,” 1826). |