breach of the peace
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English[edit]
Noun[edit]
breach of the peace (plural breaches of the peace)
- (law) The legal offense of engaging in public behavior which is violent, rowdy, or disruptive.
- 1823, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 32, in The Pioneers:
- [T]he sheriff turned his eyes again. . . . "What have we here?" he cried; "two men boxing! Has there been a breach of the peace?"
- 1938 May 16, “Jamaica: Riot Act”, in Time:
- Short of high treason, the gravest form of breach of the peace known to British law is riot.
- 2003 October 24, Aban Contractor et al., “Why a world leader used the servants' entrance”, in Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 6 October 2012:
- Four men and a woman were arrested and charged with breaches of the peace after a series of scuffles in which protesters and police received minor injuries.
- (by extension) Any public disturbance or disorderly behavior.
- 1898, George Gissing, chapter 20, in The Town Traveller:
- Polly's suspicions were louder, her temper became uncertain; once or twice she forgot herself and used language calculated to cause a breach of the peace.
- 1912, Irving Bacheller, chapter 14, in ‘Charge It’:
- Then, suddenly, the singing fell upon us and broke the silence into ruins. It was in the nature of a breach of the peace.
- 2009 April 2, Jasper Gerard, “Bucolic Britain is stirring”, in The Telegraph, UK, retrieved 6 October 2012:
- My rural ride continues, and on a gloriously balmy day in Worth Matravers the only obvious sign of a breach of the peace is a flock of geese lolloping out of the pond, on to the lane.
Translations[edit]
legal offense
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any public disturbance or disorderly behavior
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- “breach of the peace”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.