hue and cry

hue and cry
1. Early Eng. Law. the pursuit of a felon or an offender with loud outcries or clamor to give an alarm.
2. any public clamor, protest, or alarm: a general hue and cry against the war.
[1250-1300; ME, trans. of AF hu et cri. See HUE2, CRY]

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▪ English legal practice
      early English legal practice of pursuing a criminal with cries and sounds of alarm. It was the duty of any person wronged or discovering a felony to raise the hue and cry, and his neighbours were bound to come and assist him in the pursuit and apprehension of the offender. All those joining in the pursuit were justified in arresting the person pursued, even if it turned out that he was innocent. If the criminal bore apparent evidence of guilt on his person and if he resisted capture, he could be killed on the spot; if he submitted to capture, his fate was decided by due process. The various statutes relating to hue and cry were finally repealed in the early part of the 19th century.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • hue and cry — is an expression that used to mean all the people who joined in chasing a criminal or villain. Nowadays, if you do something without hue and cry, you do it discreetly and without drawing attention …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Hue and cry — Hue Hue, n. [OE. hue, huer, to hoot, shout, prob. fr. OF. hu an exclamation.] A shouting or vociferation. [1913 Webster] {Hue and cry} (Law), a loud outcry with which felons were anciently pursued, and which all who heard it were obliged to take… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hue and cry —    Hue and cry is an expression that used to mean all the people who joined in chasing a criminal or villain. Nowadays, if you do something without hue and cry, you do it discreetly and without drawing attention.   (Dorking School Dictionary) …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • Hue and cry —   Hue and cry is an expression that used to mean all the people who joined in chasing a criminal or villain. Nowadays, if you do something without hue and cry, you do it discreetly and without drawing attention …   Dictionary of English idioms

  • hue and cry — ► NOUN ▪ a loud clamour or public outcry. ORIGIN from an Old French legal phrase hu e cri, outcry and cry …   English terms dictionary

  • hue and cry — n [singular] written [Date: 1200 1300; Origin: hue from Old French, from huer to shout ] angry protests about something, usually from a group of people …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • hue and cry — [n] public clamor brouhaha, bugle call, hullabaloo, outcry, protest, rallying cry, uproar; concepts 46,65,106,674 …   New thesaurus

  • hue and cry — the making of an outcry. In early English law, if the locals did not make an outcry and pursue and catch a felon or robber within forty days, they were made liable to the victim. Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001 …   Law dictionary

  • hue and cry — noun singular a lot of complaints and protests from the public about something …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • hue and cry — hue′ and cry′ n. 1) public clamor 2) law (formerly) the pursuit of a felon with loud outcries • Etymology: 1250–1300; ME, trans. of AF hu et cri …   From formal English to slang

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