- a variation of bear-baiting.
bearbaiting
Americannoun
Other Word 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
A lecture on the liver ... he transformed into a subject of vital interest by ... references to bearbaiting and cockfighting, football and the ballet, and a strange bird in his Majesty's aviary.
From Time Magazine Archive
"It smacks of bearbaiting rather than dealing seriously with the problems," Vance said.
From Time Magazine Archive
By this the whole matter had presented itself to them as an entertainment more diverting than bullfight or bearbaiting.
From To Have and to Hold by Johnston, Mary
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.
