ticket of leave

or ticket-of-leave

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noun, plural tickets of leave.British.

(formerly) a permit allowing a convict to leave prison, under certain restrictions, and go to work before having served a full term, somewhat similar to a certificate of parole.

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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Origin of ticket of leave

First recorded in 1725–35

Words nearby ticket of leave

ticket, ticket agency, ticket agent, ticket day, ticket office, ticket of leave, tickets, ticket scalper, ticket tout, tickety-boo, tickey

How to use ticket of leave in a sentence

The fellow is a ticket-of-leave man, and as likely as not in league with these scoundrels.
A Final Reckoning|G. A. Henty
It is stated that almost all the men by whom these resorts of iniquity are kept, are either ticket-of-leave men or emancipists.
Australia, its history and present condition|William Pridden
It was a degradation to you to go mates with a ticket-of-leave man.
Grif|B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon
I got my ticket-of-leave, and worked for myself, chiefly at bullock-driving.
Grif|B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon

"It's Natty Burke, the one-armed ticket-of-leave man," whispered Waters.
Old Broadbrim Into the Heart of Australia|Author of "Old Broadbrim"

British Dictionary definitions for ticket of leave

ticket of leave

noun

(formerly in Britain) a permit allowing a convict (ticket-of-leave man) to leave prison, after serving only part of his sentence, with certain restrictions placed on him

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