Old Bailey
1
6.5
- proper noun
- UK
:
Old Bailey
- At his trial at the Old Bailey, Casement acted for his own defense and, according to Sebald, the counsel for the prosecution was the very man, Frederick Smith, who had led the Ulster Protestants to defeat the home rule proposal in 1914.
So he's gone on trial at the Old Bailey saying he was mad, not bad.
- So he's gone on trial at the Old Bailey saying he was mad, not bad.
Examples
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The judge announced that the trial would take place at the Old Bailey next week.
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- Do you know where the Old Bailey is?
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Eventually, you will be tried at the Old Bailey.
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The name and the place straight away turned up two records of cases in the Old Bailey.
Academic text (2018) -
So he's gone on trial at the Old Bailey saying he was mad, not bad.
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The Old Bailey case concerned a man who had lost two trunks when they were carried from his coach by some porters at the inn.
Academic text (2018) -
Meanwhile, Kempton Bunton, the Newcastle man accused of stealing Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington, arrived at the Old Bailey this morning for the first day of his trial.
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'Mr. Justice Hillberry, at the Old Bailey yesterday' 'sentenced Niven Craig, 26, and Cecil Burley, 27' 'to 12 years' imprisonment for armed robbery.'
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If you'll take the trouble to go to the Old Bailey tomorrow, you'll have the pleasure of seeing a young Frenchman by the name of Darnay up for treason, put there by no other than your humble servant.
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During the notorious case, the evidence was presented at the Old Bailey for everyone to see.
Synonyms
241
3.0
A building where judges and lawyers hear legal cases
18
3.3
A court that deals with illegal acts and decides punishments
Surface Forms
Morphology
old + Bailey
This is a fixed place name (a proper noun) whose institutional meaning 'the Central Criminal Court' cannot be derived from the words 'old' and 'Bailey' — the second element is not a transparent common noun here. Toponyms and named institutions are language- and culture-specific, so even learners who know the constituents would not predict this legal/court meaning.
Etymology
Old Bailey: The name Old Bailey comes from the word Bailey, which once meant the outer courtyard or path next to the old city wall and beside Newgate Prison. Because serious criminal trials were held there for many years, Old Bailey now refers to the central criminal court in London.