hustings en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈhʌstɪŋz/ (Canada)
Etymology
Originally the plural of husting, later construed as a singular.
Meanings
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A platform where candidates in an election give speeches; a husting.
I now mounted the hustings, and, without any regard to decency or modesty, made as emphatical a speech in favour of the king as before I had done against him.
1749, Henry Fielding, From This World to the Next:
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(Australia, Canada, US) An election campaign.
While on the hustings, both men made quick jaunts into the South during late April.
1981, Paul D. Casdorph, Republicans, Negroes, and Progressives in the South, 1912-1916:Washington is awfully deserted now that every congressman is out on the hustings.
In the forthcoming election the Budget will be referred to very little indeed out on the hustings.
1993, New Zealand. Parliament. House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard):
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(UK) A debate during an election campaign where the public can question some or all of the candidates.
'Look, Mr Robinson,' he spits, before attempting to blame 'the most minor confusion' on the fact that his candidate wasn't listening properly because he'd been 'doing hustings after hustings after hustings' and facing 'question after question after question'. In fact he's done three hustings during the entire campaign.
2015 June 11, Nick Robinson, Election Notebook: The Inside Story Of The Battle Over Britain’s Future And My Personal Battle To Report It, Random House, →ISBN, page 189:The candidate was having a strong campaign but fell apart at the hustings.
Health secretary Matt Hancock was booed and heckled at a general election hustings in his constituency after he launched an attack on Jeremy Corbyn over his handling of antisemitism.
2019 November 30, Eleanor Busby, “Matt Hancock booed and heckled by crowd as hustings descends into chaos”, in The Independent:Finding that he could not be heard during a hustings in the town hall, he armed members of his family with a bell and instead addressed bemused voters at the open windows of their tenements.
2006, David Torrance, The Scottish Secretaries, Birlinn Publishers:In April he addressed, after his father, a large audience at a hustings in Edinburgh, the first time he had stepped onto a stage and spoken.
2021 March 30, Josh Ireland, Churchill & Son, Penguin, →ISBN, page 85:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| hustings | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (4)
fi vaalikampanja (campaign) · bg предизборна кампания (campaign) · fi vaalitilaisuus (platform) · de Bürgergespräch (public election debate)