Grocott & Ward, comps. Grocott’s Familiar Quotations, 6th ed. 189-?.
Spoons
King.My lord of Canterbury,
I have a suit which you must not deny me;
That is, a fair young maid that yet wants baptism;
You must be godfather, and answer for her.
Cranmer.—The greatest monarch now alive may glory
In such an honour: how may I deserve it,
That am a poor and humble subject to you?
King.—Come, come, my lord, you’d spare your spoons.
Shakespeare.—King Henry VIII., Act V. Scene 2; in allusion to the practice of sponsors presenting the child with spoons, or a spoon at the christening.—(Knight’s Shakespeare.)