mortier
/ˈmɔːtɪeɪ/Now rare
noun
In France: a cap worn by various officials as an emblem of high office.
- The mortier was formerly worn by the Chancellor of France and the Presidents of the French parliaments and is now worn, in a modified form, by senior officials and magistrates of the Cour des Comptes (the National Audit Office) and the Cour de Cassation (the Supreme Court of Appeal)..
Origin
Early 18th century; earliest use found in Ephraim Chambers (?1680–1740), encyclopaedist. From French mortier.
- the big five
- the big idea
- the big lie
- the big (or bigger or larger) picture
- the big screen
- the Big Smoke
- the big stick
- the Big Three (or Four etc.)
- the bird has flown
- the birds and the bees
- the biter bitten (or bit)
- the Blessed Sacrament
- the Blitz
- the bloom is off the rose
- the Boat Race
- the body beautiful
- the Book of Psalms
- the Books of the Maccabees
- the boot (or shoe) is on the other foot
- the Border
- the Borders
- the bottom falls (or drops) out
- the Bourse
- the boy (or girl) next door
- the brass ring