Family Compact
Britishnoun
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the ruling oligarchy in Upper Canada in the early 19th century
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(often not capitals) any influential clique
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The leaders of the Family Compact in Nova Scotia were not only men of ability and integrity, they had also a reasoned theory of government.
From The Tribune of Nova Scotia A Chronicle of Joseph Howe by Grant, W. L. (William Lawson)
The Government until then was composed of members of the Family Compact, and they determined to keep settlers in the dark, and to allow the Laird of McNab to do as he pleased.
From The Last Laird of MacNab An Episode in the Settlement of MacNab Township, Upper Canada by Various
Thus the Assembly treated the Family Compact as null and void.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 2 "French Literature" to "Frost, William" by Various
Walpole was thinking, no doubt, of the Family Compact, and of "the King over the Water."
From A History of the Four Georges, Volume II by McCarthy, Justin
He was a fluent, although somewhat coarse, speaker on the platform, and was an awkward antagonist to the local supporters of the Family Compact.
From The Canadian Portrait Gallery - Volumes 1 to 4 by Dent, John Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
