A small glass?

Posted by Jose Carlos on January 03, 2005

It is said that when he was accused of having plagiarized Byron, the French poet, Alfred de Musset, wrote in response the following verses that became proverbial:

On a dit l’an passé que j’imitais Byron
Vous qui me connaissez, vous savez bien que non
Je hais comme la mort l’état de plagiaire
Mon verre n’est pas grand mais je bois dans mon verre.

The relevant line (the last one) could be thus rendered in English:

My glass is not a large one, but I am drinking from my glass.

Is the expression also used in English? Do any of you have any more information or knowledge about it?

Jose Carlos

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