bum-bailiff
noun historical, derogatory
A bailiff empowered to collect debts or arrest debtors for non-payment: a confounded pettifogging bum-bailiff...
- They are also often called bum-bailiffs or, shortly, ‘bums’.
- They will do what the law commands, but they will not volunteer to act as tip-staves of bum-bailiffs.
- Up to the time that a post office was established on January 1, 1806, it was known as Bumbridge because the bum-bailiff fell through the bridge while attempting to arrest a person.
Origin
Early 17th century: from bum2, so named because of the association of an approach from behind.
- long-running
- long s
- long service leave
- long-serving
- Longshan
- longship
- longshore
- longshore drift
- longshoreman
- long shot
- long sight
- long-sighted
- long-sightedly
- long-sightedness
- long-sleeved
- long-sleever
- longspur
- long-standing
- long-stay
- Long, Stephen Harriman
- longstop
- Longstreet, James
- long-suffering
- long-sufferingly
- long suit