the little spotted beetle, commonly called the lady-bird, or lady-cow ; in some countries the golden knop. S. C. The bishop has set his foot in it, a saying in the North, used for milk that is burnt too in boiling. Formerly, in days of superstition, whenever a bishop passed through a town or village, all the inhabitants ran out in order to receive his blessing; this frequently caused the milk on the fire to be left till burnt to the vessel, and gave origin to the above allusion.
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
(1731-1795) Poet, b. in London, and ed. at Merchant Taylor's School and Oxf., took orders and becam...
Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John W. Cousin