- a variation of bear-baiting.
bearbaiting
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bearbaiting
First recorded in 1580–90; bear 2, bait (in the sense “to set dogs upon for sport”), -ing 1 ( def. )
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.
Noting that bearbaiting was, like the theater of the time, a popular form of entertainment, she folds into her tale a troupe of bears who carp about their degrading lives from inside their cages.
From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2017
Was it a new twist on the reality show bearbaiting formula, or just a brilliant opportunity for some free publicity for Pimlico Plumbers?
From The Guardian • Jul. 11, 2012
"It smacks of bearbaiting rather than dealing seriously with the problems," Vance said.
From Time Magazine Archive
An 1822 blue law still forbids Mississippians to attend bearbaiting, cockfights, bullfights and any other routine amusements of a Sabbath.
From Time Magazine Archive
But bearbaiting, then a favourite diversion of high and low, was the abomination which most strongly stirred the wrath of the austere sectaries.
From The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 1 by Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron
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.
