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.
Suppose Mrs. Godd could be induced to help in a jail delivery!
From 100%: the Story of a Patriot by Sinclair, Upton
As we chose not to have them fall into the hands of the rebels, a general jail delivery was ordered this morning, which set him at large.”
From Janice Meredith by Ford, Paul Leicester
They have never had a jail delivery here, you know.
From The Land of Frozen Suns by Sinclair, Bertrand W.
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)
It was opposed vigorously by Wilson, of Massachusetts, who called it a general jail delivery for the benefit of traitors.
From The Life of Lyman Trumbull by White, Horace
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.
