| 释义 |
Star Chamber /stär chāmˈbər/ noun- A court (abolished 1641) with a civil and criminal jurisdiction, which met in the old council chamber at Westminster and was empowered to act without a jury and to use torture
- (also without caps) generally, an over-zealous or secret inquiry or investigation
- A closed meeting in which important decisions, resolutions, etc are made, esp on matters of public concern
- A group of senior ministers of the British Cabinet, who meet occasionally to decide how government spending is to be allocated amongst various ministries
ORIGIN: Prob named from the gilt stars on the ceiling, not from the Jewish bonds (starrs) kept in it |