E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Hair
(Absalom’s) (2 Sam. xiv. 25). Absalom used to cut his hair once a year, and the clippings “weighed 200 shekels after the king’s weight,” i.e. 100 oz. avoirdupois. It would be a fine head of hair which weighed five ounces, but the mere clippings of Absalom’s hair weighed 43,800 grains (more than 100
oz.). Paul says (1 Cor. xi. 14), “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?”
1
Mrs. Astley, the actress, could stand upright and cover her feet with her flaxen hair.
