The "hue and cry," formerly, in English law, is the pursuit of a criminal immediately after he had committed a felony. Whoever witnessed or discovered the crime was required to raise the hue and cry against the perpetrator (e.g., call out "Stop, thief !") and to begin pursuit; all persons within hearing were under the same obligation, and it was a punishable offense not to join in the chase and capture. The perpetrator was promptly brought into court, and if there was evidence of his having been caught red-handed, he was summarily convicted without being allowed to testify in his own behalf. The hue and cry was abolished in the early 19th cent. Possible modern survivals are the obligation to serve on a sheriff's posse and to assist a police officer in pursuing a suspected culprit.So, there you have it. What this has to do with our family, I have no idea, other than it is a phrase suggesting clamor and chaos. I thought it would be a fun name for a blog. At the very least, it is much better than the name of YOUR blog.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Origin of the phrase "hue and cry" [Bryan]
Some people have asked me where the phrase "hue and cry" comes from. The Columbia Encyclopedia says:
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3 comments:
I just read that phrase in a book a few weeks ago and smiled. I meant to tell you then because now I can't even remember which book it was!
Getting a little competitive with that last sentence.
I think it was The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Based on the definition, and the other books I have been reading, I think that is the only one that would make sense.
Oh come on you can't knock the Stowaways! - at least our blog name DOES have something to do with our family!! ;-)
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