Brewer's: King of Shreds and Patches

In the old mysteries Vice used to be dressed as a mimic king in a parti-coloured suit. (Shakespeare: Hamlet, iii. 4.) The phrase is metaphorically applied to certain literary operatives who compile books for publishers, but supply no originality of thought or matter.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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