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Meaning ane origin of a phrase

Posted by Bruce Kahl on May 22, 2001

In Reply to: Meaning ane origin of a phrase posted by David L Hickey on May 22, 2001

: The phrase in question is "steeper than 'the cataracts of Christ' ". The person from Vermont who used it said he heard his mother use the expression.

"The burning cataracts of Christ"
I found a poem that has something close to your phrase but its no cigar on the exact phrase so maybe someone else can find something.

The Everlasting Mercy
by John Masefield
(1878-1967)

...So wild it was there was no knowing
Whether the clouds or stars were blowing;
Blown chimney pots and folk blown blind,
And puddles glimmering in my mind,
And chinking glass from windows banging,
And inn signs swung like people hanging,
And in my heart the drink unpriced,
The burning cataracts of Christ.

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