hue and cry

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noun

Early English Law. the pursuit of a felon or an offender with loud outcries or clamor to give an alarm.

any public clamor, protest, or alarm: a general hue and cry against the war.

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Origin of hue and cry

1250–1300; Middle English, translation of Anglo-French hu et cri.See hue², cry

Words nearby hue and cry

Hudson's Bay Company, Hudson seal, Hudson Strait, hudud, hue, hue and cry, huebnerite, hued, Huelva, huemul, Huerta

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use hue and cry in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“He turned pale, trembled to a great degree, was much agitated, and began to cry,” she told the court.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The girls send a cry for help…the situation of these girls is distressing.
Jihadis Release New Year’s Eve Video of Italian Female Hostages|Jamie Dettmer, Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Do not the widow's tears run down the cheek, and her cry against him that causeth them to fall?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
At Felipe's cry, the women waiting in the hall hurried in, wailing aloud as their first glance showed them all was over.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
I could have sworn I heard a cry, and one of my men spoke in a tone that assured me my imagination had not been playing a trick.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
A sob rose in her throat, and broke from her lips transformed into a trembling, sharp, glad cry.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement

British Dictionary definitions for hue and cry

hue and cry

noun

(formerly) the pursuit of a suspected criminal with loud cries in order to raise the alarm

any loud public outcry

Word Origin for hue and cry

C16: from Anglo-French hu et cri, from Old French hue outcry, from huer to shout, from hu! shout of warning + cri cry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for hue and cry

hue and cry

Any loud clamor or protest intended to incite others to action: “In the 1980s, there was a great hue and cry for educational reform.”

Other Idioms and Phrases with hue and cry

hue and cry

A public clamor, as of protest or demand. For example, The reformers raised a hue and cry about political corruption. This redundant expression (hue and cry both mean “an outcry”), dating from the 1200s, originally meant “an outcry calling for the pursuit of a criminal.” By the mid-1500s it was also being used more broadly, as in the example.

hue and cry

Origin of hue and cry

Words nearby hue and cry

Words related to hue and cry

How to use hue and cry in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hue and cry

Word Origin for hue and cry

Cultural definitions for hue and cry

Other Idioms and Phrases with hue and cry