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Definition of Gallows bird
1. Noun. A person who deserves to be hanged.
Definition of Gallows bird
1. Noun. (archaic) A person who deserves to be, or is likely to be hanged. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Gallows Bird
Literary usage of Gallows bird
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Glossary of Terms and Phrases by Henry Percy Smith (1883)
"Gibier de potence, a gallows bird. ' Gibraltar. (Pillars of Herakles.) Giffard
injector. A contrivance for introducing water into a boiler without pumping. ..."
2. The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language by William Dwight Whitney (1889)
""It Is ill to check sleep or sweat in a sick man," said he ; "I know that far,
though I ne'er minced [dissected] ape nor gallows-bird. ..."
3. The Fair Maid of Perth, Or, Saint Valentine's Day: Or Saint Valentine's Day by Walter Scott (1878)
"... exclaimed, "Had this been iu another place, young gallows- bird, I had stowed
the lugs out of thy head, as I have done to some of thy clan before thee. ..."
4. A German and English Dictionary by Karl. Breul (1906)
"... gallows-bird, ... m. gallows-bird, criminal ; raven. «OllO'll, n. (—&, pi.
—Sand—e) figure-head (of a shin). ..."