"flounder", "red-herring", "magic glass", 1703 -- for the OED

[Robin Hamilton]

Might it be Aniseed (Water) Robin, so called since he sold aniseed water, 
a.k.a. gin, in the streets of London?  A famous/notorious hermaphrodite, who 
was around London in the 1650s and later (I think) and is referred to pretty 
frequently, among others by Daniel Defoe.  His name would probably still 
have been familiar in the early 1700s.  I don't know whether he was ever 
called "terrible", but he was certainly notorious.

Robin Hamilton

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-----Original Message----- 
From: Joel S. Berson
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2014 6:23 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "flounder", "red-herring", "magic glass", 1703 -- for the OED

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At 10/3/2014 11:14 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:

>When I read Terrible Robin I think Robin Goodfellow.

I also wondered (and as well about Robin Hood, who might have been
called "terrible" by the sheriff) but lacked contemporary quotations
for "terrible Robin" with useful context.

Joel 

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