hanging offence
- noun
- /ˈhæŋɪŋ əˈfɛns/
- Offensive
:
delito capital
- He committed a hanging offence that shocked the entire community.
Examples
-
Fraud is often seen as a hanging offence in many legal systems.
-
- Were impudence a hanging offence, sir, perhaps I should see you dangling there.
-
Threatening the safety of others can be seen as a hanging offence.
Synonyms
9
8.2
A crime so serious that the law can punish with death
Antonyms
How Serious
- Offensive
6
4.5
- US
351
3.3
- Specialized
133
6.0
- Formal
3
6.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a crime punishable by death by hanging' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'hanging' (execution by suspension) with 'offence' (a crime). This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase that mirrors equivalent constructions in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Hanging offence comes from old times when an offence, a crime, could be punished by hanging, that is 'punished by death'. Today, because the image of being 'hanged' is very severe, people use hanging offence to mean a very serious or unforgivable wrong, often not literally 'punished by death'.