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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Grand Panjandrum
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A character first appearing in nonsense lines said to have been composed by Samuel Foote (1720–77) to test the actor Charles Macklin, who claimed to be able to memorize any text on a single hearing. It is what we would now call a shaggy-dog story (featuring as it happens a 'great she-bear') and it introduces many weird characters, ending with 'the Grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, and they all fell to playing the game of catch as catch can, till the gun powder ran out at the heels of their boots'.
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