Send to Coventry: Difference between revisions
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{{Wiktionary|send to Coventry}} |
{{Wiktionary|send to Coventry}} |
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"'''Send to Coventry'''" is an [[idiom]] used in [[England]] meaning to deliberately [[ostracism|ostracise]] someone. Typically, this is done by not talking to them, avoiding their company, and acting as if they no longer exist. [[Coventry]] is a historical cathedral city in the [[West_Midlands_(county)|West Midlands]] county. |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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The origins of this phrase are unknown, although it is quite probable that events in Coventry in the [[English Civil War]] in the 1640s play a part. One hypothesis as to its origin is based upon [[The History of the Rebellion|''The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England'']], by [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon]]. In this work, Clarendon recalls how [[Cavalier|Royalist]] troops that were captured in [[Birmingham]] were taken as prisoners to Coventry, which was a [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] stronghold. These troops were often not received warmly by the locals.{{ |
The origins of this phrase are unknown, although it is quite probable that events in Coventry in the [[English Civil War]] in the 1640s play a part. One hypothesis as to its origin is based upon [[The History of the Rebellion|''The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England'']], by [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon]]. In this work, Clarendon recalls how [[Cavalier|Royalist]] troops that were captured in [[Birmingham]] were taken as prisoners to Coventry, which was a [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] stronghold. These troops were often not received warmly by the locals.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002032312127&seq=686}}</ref> |
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A book entitled ''Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals'' (1735) states that [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] passed an act "whereby any person with malice aforethought by lying in wait unlawfully cutting out or disabling the tongue, putting out an eye, slitting the nose or cutting off the nose or lip of any subject of His Majesty ... shall suffer death." This was called the Coventry Act, after [[John Coventry (died 1682)|Sir John Coventry MP]], who had "had his nose slit to the bone" by attackers.<ref>{{cite book|title=Key writings on subcultures, 1535–1727 : classics from the underworld.|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-28680-0|edition=2nd ed., repr.|editor=Arthur L.Hayward}}</ref> |
A book entitled ''Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals'' (1735) states that [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] passed an act "whereby any person with malice aforethought by lying in wait unlawfully cutting out or disabling the tongue, putting out an eye, slitting the nose or cutting off the nose or lip of any subject of His Majesty ... shall suffer death." This was called the Coventry Act, after [[John Coventry (died 1682)|Sir John Coventry MP]], who had "had his nose slit to the bone" by attackers.<ref>{{cite book|title=Key writings on subcultures, 1535–1727 : classics from the underworld.|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-28680-0|edition=2nd ed., repr.|editor=Arthur L.Hayward}}</ref> |
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Some{{Who|date=January 2018}} have suggested that the idiom derives from the ostracism that became a fate of Coventry's legendary "[[Peeping Tom]]".{{cn|date=October 2014}} However it is surprising that there is no recorded use between the 1050s (the origin of the tale) and the first possible example suggested by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', dated 1647. Furthermore, there is no support for this derivation in ''[[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable]]'' (1981), the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1986), or Partridge's ''Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'' (1961).{{Synthesis inline|date=February 2020}} |
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An early example of the idiom is from the ''Club book of the [[Tarporley Hunt Club|Tarporley Hunt]]'' (1765):<ref>{{cite journal|title=Coventry| work=Oxford English Dictionary|edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 1999}}</ref> |
An early example of the idiom is from the ''Club book of the [[Tarporley Hunt Club|Tarporley Hunt]]'' (1765):<ref>{{cite journal|title=Coventry| work=Oxford English Dictionary|edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 1999}}</ref> |
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== Equivalents == |
== Equivalents == |
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A partial French equivalent is {{ |
A partial French equivalent is {{langx|fr|[[wikt:limoger|limoger]]|label=none}} (removing or demoting someone from a high position), which is derived from [[Limoges]], the city in central France to which generals deemed incompetent were sent during [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web|title=limoger|website=[[Trésor de la langue française informatisé]] (TLFi)|date=1983|publisher=Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales (CNRTL)|location=Nancy|url=https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/limoger}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Latest revision as of 09:22, 23 November 2024
"Send to Coventry" is an idiom used in England meaning to deliberately ostracise someone. Typically, this is done by not talking to them, avoiding their company, and acting as if they no longer exist. Coventry is a historical cathedral city in the West Midlands county.
Origin
[edit]The origins of this phrase are unknown, although it is quite probable that events in Coventry in the English Civil War in the 1640s play a part. One hypothesis as to its origin is based upon The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, by Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. In this work, Clarendon recalls how Royalist troops that were captured in Birmingham were taken as prisoners to Coventry, which was a Parliamentarian stronghold. These troops were often not received warmly by the locals.[1]
A book entitled Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals (1735) states that Charles II passed an act "whereby any person with malice aforethought by lying in wait unlawfully cutting out or disabling the tongue, putting out an eye, slitting the nose or cutting off the nose or lip of any subject of His Majesty ... shall suffer death." This was called the Coventry Act, after Sir John Coventry MP, who had "had his nose slit to the bone" by attackers.[2]
An early example of the idiom is from the Club book of the Tarporley Hunt (1765):[3]
Mr. John Barry having sent the Fox Hounds to a different place to what was ordered was sent to Coventry, but return'd upon giving six bottles of Claret to the Hunt.
By 1811, the meaning of the term was defined in Grose's The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue:
To send one to Coventry; a punishment inflicted by officers of the army on such of their brethren as are testy, or have been guilty of improper behaviour, not worthy the cognizance of a court martial. The person sent to Coventry is considered as absent; no one must speak to or answer any question he asks, except relative to duty, under penalty of being also sent to the same place. On a proper submission, the penitent is recalled, and welcomed by the mess, as just returned from a journey to Coventry.[4]
According to William Clark in Tales of the Wars (1836), the phrase originates from a story about a regiment that was stationed in the city of Coventry but was ill-received and denied services.[5]
Equivalents
[edit]A partial French equivalent is limoger (removing or demoting someone from a high position), which is derived from Limoges, the city in central France to which generals deemed incompetent were sent during World War I.[6]
See also
[edit]- Boycott
- Coventry (short story) by Robert A. Heinlein
- Ghosting (behavior)
- Ostracism
- Silent treatment
- Stealth banning
References
[edit]- ^ The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England.
- ^ Arthur L.Hayward, ed. (2002). Key writings on subcultures, 1535–1727 : classics from the underworld (2nd ed., repr. ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-28680-0.
- ^ "Coventry". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 1999.
- ^ "Coventry (Grose 1811 dictionary)". fromoldbooks.org. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
- ^ Clark, William M. (1836). Tales of the Wars. Volume 1, p. 72.
- ^ "limoger". Trésor de la langue française informatisé (TLFi). Nancy: Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales (CNRTL). 1983.