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Boycott
(To ). To boycott a person is to refuse to deal
with him, to take any notice of him, or even to sell to him. The term
arose in 1881, when Captain Boycott, an Irish landlord, was thus
ostracised by the Irish agrarian insurgents. The custom of ostracising
is of very old standing. St. Paul exhorts Christians to “boycott”
idolaters (2 Cor. vi. 17); and the Jews “boycotted” the Samaritans. The
French phrases, Damner une boutique and Damner une ville,
convey the same idea; and the Catholic Church anathematises and
interdicts freely.
“One word as to the way in which a man should be boycotted. When any
man has taken a farm from which a tenant has been evicted, or is a
grabber, let everyone in the parish turn his back on him; have no
communication with him, have no dealings with him. You need never say
an unkind word to him; but never say anything at all to him. If you
must meet him in fair, walk away from him silently. Do him no violence,
but have no dealings with him. Let every man's door be closed against
him; and make him feel himself a stranger and a castaway in his own
neighbourhood.” —J. Dillon, M.P. (Speech to the Land League,
Fch. 26, 1881).
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Boycott from Infoplease:
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