highway robberyn.

1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xii. 573/2 Skulking surprises and vnder-hand stealthes, more neerely resembling high-way robberies, then lawfull battell.

1696 tr. G. de Courtilz de Sandras Mem. Count de Rochefort 411 When they heard of a High-way Robbery in the case; they did what they could.

1733 Ordinary of Newgate No. 2. 14/2 He..denied, that he ever was concern'd in Street or Highway Robberies or Shop-lifting.

1779 (title) The Malefactor's Register..with trials for Bigamy, Burglary, Felony, Forgery, Highway-Robbery.

1853 E. C. Gaskell Cranford x. 181 She indeed inclined to the idea that, in some way, the French were connected with..the burglaries and highway robberies.

1899 Daily News 18 May 10/5 A good highway robbery story.

1927 F. M. Thrasher Gang ii. vi. 112 A large class of epidemics of various sorts—suicide, bank and highway robbery,..etc.—have been ascribed to newspaper suggestion.

1967 S. W. Baron Social & Relig. Hist. Jews (rev. ed.) XI. lii. 116 Perambulating from village to village, moreover, exposed the peddler to highway robberies.

2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 9 Mar. a11/1 Alert for homemade bombs, mortar attacks and highway robbery, troops from the First Infantry division rolled into their new base.

1777 I. Jackman All World's Stage i. i. 5 What, five shillings for a boiled fowl!.. This is high-way robbery, without the credit of being robbed.

1853 Graham's Mag. Sept. 247/2 1853 Sept. 247/2 ‘You must pay your footin'’ sais I... ‘That's not fair now’, sais she; ‘that's highway robbery, I declare.’

1873 ‘M. Twain’ & C. D. Warner Gilded Age xliii. 393 Here is one calls it [sc. the proposed use of public money for the founding of a university] a ‘questionable measure’. Bah, there is no strength in that. This one is better; it calls it ‘highway robbery’.

1909 Z. Grey Short-stop vii. 115 She must not take the expenditure of his money so much as an instance of reckless extravagance as it was a case of highway robbery.

1941 ‘R. Crompton’ William does his Bit ii. 36 ‘I've heard people talk about highway robbery quite lately.’ ‘Yes, but they only mean people chargin' too much for meals,’ explained Ginger, ‘not the old sort.’

1986 Washington Post (Nexis) 22 Apr. a2 Pentagonians who bark about highway robbery among contractors..are regularly exiled to Alaska.

2007 R. D. Schumaker Habits & Love 21 One hundred and fifty dollars to install a radiator wasn't exactly highway robbery.