bridewell
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of bridewell
First recorded in 1545–55; after a prison that formerly stood near the church of St. Bride in London
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.
After two weeks in the bridewell, Novelist Yehling changed his literary plans: "I think I'll join the Army and try to write a better book than Tolstoi's War and Peace."
From Time Magazine Archive
They hauled him out iv station an' jail an' bridewell.
From Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War by Finley Peter Dunne
At prisint th' opinion that pre-vails in th' ranks iv th' gloryous ar-rmy iv rayform is that there ain't annything worth seein' in this lar-rge an' commodyous desert but th' pest-house an' the bridewell.
From Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War by Finley Peter Dunne
The cove was hued in the naskin; the rogue was soundly lashed in bridewell.
From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
A portly watchman usually sat on a stool outside the door day and night; but on this particular occasion, his services being required elsewhere, the bridewell had been left to guard itself.
From The Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
