Underground Railroad
1
3.6
- noun
- /ˈʌndərˌɡraʊnd ˈreɪlˌroʊd/
:
red clandestina
- "We need to start thinking of processes such as the Underground Railroad as part of this global marronage," he says.
Examples
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And the Underground Railroad now
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They traveled the Underground Railroad, a code word for what was neither a railroad nor underground.
Fiction book (2002) -
As a step in connecting them, the Dismal became the first National Wildlife Refuge to be officially designated a link in the "Underground Railroad Network to Freedom" in 2003.
Academic text (2011) -
One of my graduate students presented an intriguing general elementary lesson using "The Drinking Gourd," a spiritual, as the basis for guiding her students through a movement experience about the Underground Railroad.
Academic text (2003) -
You talk about runaways, but it's fragmented. For instance, the Underground Railroad was a maroon movement, but it is often considered apart from these other maroon efforts.
Academic text (2011) -
Many escaped slaves relied on the Underground Railroad to find their way to freedom in the northern states.
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The Underground Railroad served as a vital lifeline for those seeking to escape slavery during the 19th century.
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Numerous secret safe houses were part of the Underground Railroad, helping migrants reach safety from oppressive conditions.
Synonyms
A secret U.S. network that helped enslaved people escape to free states or Canada before the Civil War
How Secret
- Specialized
1
6.4
1
3.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'underground' (clandestine) and 'railroad' (network/transport system) can likely infer a 'secret network' from the constituents, so the basic notion of a clandestine transport or network is transparent. However, the specific historical meaning (the 19th-century network that helped enslaved people escape) and the metaphorical extension to help migrants/refugees are not fully predictable from the parts and could be misunderstood as a literal subterranean railway, so the expression is only partially compositional.
Etymology
Underground Railroad is now used for any modern 'secret network' that helps people move to safety. People call these groups that way because they work like the old network: hidden routes, safe houses called 'stations', and guides or 'conductors' who move people quietly, so the name gives the image of secret trains taking people to safety.