When a musician hath forgot his note, he makes as though a crumb stuck in his throat.
Meaning: A performer caught in error masks the mistake with deliberate distraction rather than admitting incompetence.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
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