bankrupt cart
English
Etymology
Said to be so called by a Lord Chief Justice, from their being so frequently used on Sunday jaunts by extravagant shopkeepers and tradesmen.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Noun
bankrupt cart (plural bankrupt carts)
- (obsolete, idiomatic) A one-horse chaise.
- 1813, Harriet Corp, Cottage Sketches; Or, Active Retirement:
- " No, no, I was too prudent when I was young to risk the expenses of a bankrupt cart, and now I am old I am too wise to attempt the difficult art of driving one."
References
[Francis] Grose [et al.] (1811) “Bankrupt cart”, in Lexicon Balatronicum. A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence. […], London: […] C. Chappell, […], →OCLC.