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

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Noun

bankrupt cart (plural bankrupt carts)

1. (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.