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Definition 2024

send_to_coventry

send to Coventry

English

Verb

send to Coventry ‎(third-person singular simple present sends to Coventry, present participle sending to Coventry, simple past and past participle sent to Coventry)

  1. (transitive, idiomatic) To ostracize, or systematically ignore someone.
    The group decided to send the unpopular members to Coventry.

Etymology

Some believe that the phrase dates from the English Civil War, when a military prison was located in that city. Others say it dates from the 18th century, when Coventry was the nearest town to London that lay outside the jurisdiction of the Bow Street Runners and so London criminals would flee to Coventry to escape arrest.

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