	Site Map \| FAQ in Daily Almanac for Dec 2, 2009 Search White Pages
Skip Navigation Home Winter Holidays Atlas Encyclopedia Dictionary Thesaurus Features Quizzes Timelines Countries Slideshows

Fact Monster Kid's reference,
games, quizzes

Editor's Favorites

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—R

Red-breasts

Bow Street runners, who wore a scarlet waistcoat.

“The Bow Street runners ceased out of the land soon after the introduction of the new police. I remember them very well as standing about the door of the office in Bow Street. They had no other uniform than a blue dress-coat, brass buttons ... and a bright red cloth waistcoat ... The slang name for them was `Red-breasts.”' —Dickens: Letters, vol. ii. p. 178.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894

Red Button

Red Boots

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Red-breasts

More on Red-breasts from Infoplease:

Related Content