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town crier

See more synonyms for town crier on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (formerly) a person employed by a town to make public announcements or proclamations, usually by shouting in the streets.
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Origin of town crier

First recorded in 1595–1605
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for town crier

Historical Examples

  • The words he said might have been published by the town-crier.

    Lippincott's Magazine, December 1878

    Various

  • The town-crier had evidently ceased to read the proclamation.

    The Elusive Pimpernel

    Baroness Emmuska Orczy

  • After a while, the constable got a deputy to whom he made over his business of town-crier.

    A Boy's Town

    W. D. Howells

  • The Count's whiskers are white with the flour just flung at him by the town-crier.

  • But it was only a town-crier beating his drum to call the people together.

    The Honor of the Name

    Emile Gaboriau

British Dictionary definitions for town crier

town crier

noun
  1. (formerly) a person employed by a town to make public announcements in the streets
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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