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Definition of "hue and cry" []

  • A public clamor, as of protest or demand: raised a great hue and cry about political corruption. (noun)
  • The pursuit of a felon announced with loud shouts to alert others who were then legally obliged to give chase. (noun)
  • The loud outcry formerly used in such a pursuit. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "hue and cry" in a sentence
  • "At Lyons, we entered the Rhone, on our way to Arles le Blanc; and in the Rhone we came upon a castle called the Rock of Gluy, which the King had caused to be pulled down, because the hue and cry was out against Roger, the lord of the castle, for robbing pilgrims and merchants."
  • "A hue and cry went up, fueled by London and provincial news gazettes clear across the country."
  • "So long as I was a 'plebe,' no one anticipated any such dire calamity as that I would attend the 'hops,' but as soon as I became a 'yearling,' and had a perfect right to go, if I wished, there was a great hue and cry raised that the sanctity of the 'hop' room was to be violated by the colored cadet."