I didn’t know…

In Act One, Scene One of The Second Part of Henry the Sixth, Gloucester describes Suffolk as the one who “rules the roast” (I.i.106).  I had always heard the term “rule the roost,” as in a hen-house, to describe a man who ruled over his household (but not having huge power).  It seems that the latter term is derived from the former which has the meaning “to have full sway or authority; to be master” (Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM [v. 4.0]).  If to rule the roast is to dominate, to sit at the head of the table of, a grand opulent palace, then to rule the roost would be much less.

of no import… just kinda interesting…

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