Hue and cry

Hue and cry

In common law, a hue and cry (Latin, "hutesium et clamor", "a horn and shouting") was a process by which bystanders were summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who had been witnessed in the act of committing a crime.

By the statute of Winchester, 13 Edw. I cc. 1 and 4, (1285) it was provided that anyone, either a constable or a private citizen, who witnessed a crime shall make hue and cry, and that the hue and cry must be kept up against the fleeing criminal from town to town and from county to county, until the felon is apprehended and delivered to the sheriff. All able-bodied men, upon hearing the shouts, were obliged to assist in the pursuit of the criminal, which makes it comparable to the "posse comitatus". It was moreover provided that a hundred that failed to give pursuit on the hue and cry would become liable in case of any theft or robbery. Those who raised a hue and cry falsely were themselves guilty of a crime.

In "Oliver Twist", Fagin reads a magazine called the "Hue and Cry" which was a weekly Police Gazette detailing crimes and wanted people.

Metaphor

In contemporary terms, the "hue and cry" is also used figuratively to describe the behaviour of the news media, seeking a scapegoat for some complex public calamity or instigating moral panics.

ee also

* Citizen's arrest
* AMBER Alert


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  • Hue and Cry — are a pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the brothers Pat Kane (vocals) and Greg Kane (keyboards). They had a number of modest hits in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1980s, and early 1990s, and have released eleven albums from… …   Wikipedia

  • hue and cry — is an expression that used to mean all the people who joined in chasing a criminal or villain. Nowadays, if you do something without hue and cry, you do it discreetly and without drawing attention …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Hue and cry — Hue Hue, n. [OE. hue, huer, to hoot, shout, prob. fr. OF. hu an exclamation.] A shouting or vociferation. [1913 Webster] {Hue and cry} (Law), a loud outcry with which felons were anciently pursued, and which all who heard it were obliged to take… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hue and cry —    Hue and cry is an expression that used to mean all the people who joined in chasing a criminal or villain. Nowadays, if you do something without hue and cry, you do it discreetly and without drawing attention.   (Dorking School Dictionary) …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • Hue and cry —   Hue and cry is an expression that used to mean all the people who joined in chasing a criminal or villain. Nowadays, if you do something without hue and cry, you do it discreetly and without drawing attention …   Dictionary of English idioms

  • hue and cry — ► NOUN ▪ a loud clamour or public outcry. ORIGIN from an Old French legal phrase hu e cri, outcry and cry …   English terms dictionary

  • hue and cry — n [singular] written [Date: 1200 1300; Origin: hue from Old French, from huer to shout ] angry protests about something, usually from a group of people …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • hue and cry — [n] public clamor brouhaha, bugle call, hullabaloo, outcry, protest, rallying cry, uproar; concepts 46,65,106,674 …   New thesaurus

  • hue and cry — the making of an outcry. In early English law, if the locals did not make an outcry and pursue and catch a felon or robber within forty days, they were made liable to the victim. Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001 …   Law dictionary

  • hue and cry — noun singular a lot of complaints and protests from the public about something …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • hue and cry — hue′ and cry′ n. 1) public clamor 2) law (formerly) the pursuit of a felon with loud outcries • Etymology: 1250–1300; ME, trans. of AF hu et cri …   From formal English to slang

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