And whan that I have toold thee forth my tale
Of tribulacion in mariage,
Of which I am expert in al myn age –
This is to seyn, myself have been the whippe –
Than maystow chese wheither thou wolt sippe
Of thilke tonne that I shal abroche.
Be war of it, er thou to ny approche.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. After the Pardoner interrupts Alison, worried because he is about to be married, he is told by her to shut up and have another drink. Using the metaphor of a cask of wine for marriage, the Wife of Bath says that when she, an expert on the tribulation in marriage, has told her tale, then will he be able to make up his own mind on whether sip from that cask or not.