'to be more Catholic than the Pope' definitions:
Definition of 'to be more Catholic than the Pope'
From: GCIDE
- Pope \Pope\ (p[=o]p), n. [AS. p[=a]pa, L. papa father, bishop. Cf. Papa, Papal.]
- 1. Any ecclesiastic, esp. a bishop. [Obs.] --Foxe. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. See Note under Cardinal. [1913 Webster]
- 3. A parish priest, or a chaplain, of the Greek Church. [1913 Webster]
- 4. (Zool.) A fish; the ruff. [1913 Webster]
- Pope Joan, a game at cards played on a round board with compartments.
- Pope's eye, the gland surrounded with fat in the middle of the thigh of an ox or sheep. --R. D. Blackmore.
- Pope's nose, the rump, or uropygium, of a bird. See Uropygium.
- to be more Catholic than the Pope to adhere more stringently to Roman Catholic practices and doctrine than is required by church doctrine; -- usually used in a negative sense to mean, to be excessively pious. [1913 Webster +PJC]