put the beggar on the gentleman

verb

To follow up something good with something inferior.

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Meanings

verbput the beggar on the gentleman (third-person singular simple present puts the beggar on the gentleman, present participle putting the beggar on the gentleman, simple past and past participle put the beggar on the gentleman)

present singular third person puts the beggar on the gentleman · participle present putting the beggar on the gentleman

  1. UKidiomaticobsoleteslangTo follow up something good with something inferior.

    And there is the grandmother who says scornfully, if someone makes a good cake with poor icing, "That is putting the beggar on the gentleman".

    1979, Harold W. Thompson, Body, Boots, and Britches, page 504
    1 more example

    He called for two gills of ale, and I took my share; but I was determined not to put the beggar on the gentleman, that was my phrase to him, being a fellow workman. And when they brought the two glasses of ale, I took mine, and gave it to a man of the name of Thomas Kay; […]

    1838, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, volume 11
Cite this entry
APA

put the beggar on the gentleman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20beggar%20on%20the%20gentleman

MLA

“put the beggar on the gentleman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20beggar%20on%20the%20gentleman. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put the beggar on the gentleman,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20beggar%20on%20the%20gentleman.

Source: put the beggar on the gentleman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.