"Send to Coventry" is an
idiom
An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...
used in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
meaning to deliberately
ostracise
Ostracism (, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the citizen, ostracism was often us ...
someone. Typically, this is done by not talking to them, avoiding their company, and acting as if they no longer exist.
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
is a historical cathedral city in the
West Midlands county.
Origin
The origins of this phrase are unknown, although it is quite probable that events in Coventry in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
in the 1640s play a part. One hypothesis as to its origin is based upon
''The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England'', by
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674) was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II fro ...
. In this work, Clarendon recalls how
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
troops that were captured in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
were taken as prisoners to Coventry, which was a
Parliamentarian stronghold. These troops were often not received warmly by the locals.
A book entitled ''Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals'' (1735) states that
Charles II passed an act "whereby any person with malice aforethought by lying in wait unlawfully cutting out or disabling the tongue, putting out an eye, slitting the nose or cutting off the nose or lip of any subject of His Majesty ... shall suffer death." This was called the Coventry Act, after
Sir John Coventry MP, who had "had his nose slit to the bone" by attackers.
An early example of the idiom is from the ''Club book of the
Tarporley Hunt'' (1765):
By 1811, the meaning of the term was defined in
Grose's ''The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'':
According to William Clark in ''Tales of the Wars'' (1836), the phrase originates from a story about a regiment that was stationed in the city of Coventry but was ill-received and denied services.
Equivalents
A partial French equivalent is (removing or demoting someone from a high position), which is derived from
Limoges
Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...
, the city in central France to which generals deemed incompetent were sent during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
See also
*
Boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
*
Coventry (short story) by
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
*
Ghosting (behavior)
Ghosting, simmering and icing are colloquial terms that describe the practice of suddenly ending all communication and avoiding contact with another person without any apparent warning or explanation and ignoring any subsequent attempts to communi ...
*
Ostracism
Ostracism (, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the citizen, ostracism was often us ...
*
Silent treatment
Silent treatment is the refusal to communicate with someone who is trying to communicate and elicit a response. It may range from just sulking to malevolent abusive controlling behaviour. It may be a passive-aggressive form of emotional abuse i ...
*
Stealth banning
References
External links
World Wide Words – Send To Coventry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Send To Coventry
British English idioms
Culture in Coventry
Shunning
Interpersonal conflict