jail delivery
Americannoun
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a liberation of persons from prison, especially by force.
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the act of clearing a jail of prisoners by bringing them to trial, as at the assizes in England.
noun
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forcible and illegal liberation of prisoners from jail
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English law (formerly) a commission issued to assize judges when they come to a circuit town authorizing them to try all prisoners and release those acquitted
Etymology
Origin of jail delivery
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75
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.
For the most of us there is no jail delivery of those inner depths, and the life above goes on to its honourable end.
From The New Machiavelli by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
They have never had a jail delivery here, you know.
From The Land of Frozen Suns by Sinclair, Bertrand W.
As the day set for Rebstock’s trial drew near, rumors were heard of a jail delivery.
From The Mountain Divide by Both, Armand
"If," says the Chief Justice, "we could conjure up in our minds a President willing to paralyze courts by pardoning all criminal contempts, why not a President ordering a general jail delivery?"
From The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 30, 1952 by Corwin, Edward Samuel
"There's the True Blue put on extra to-day for the jail delivery," he remarked.
From Highway Pirates or, The Secret Place at Coverthorne by Avery, Harold
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.
