knight of the post en · NOUN
Etymology
Suggesting that such a person would be familiar with the whipping-post or pillory.
Meanings
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(idiomatic, obsolete) A known perjurer; a professional false witness.
A knight of the post […] quoth he, for so I am termed; a fellow that will swear you anything for twelve pence.
1592, Thomas Nashe, Pierce Penniless:[…] But with more lucky hit than those That use to make the stars depose, Like knights o' th' post, and falsely charge Upon themselves what others forge; As if they were consenting to All mischief in the world men do […]
1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto I.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:[T]he fugitive had been cajoled by a certain knight of the post, who undertook to manage the thousand pounds in such a manner, as would, in a very little time, make him perfectly independent […].
1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| knights of the post | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (3)
tr yalancı şahit (professional false witness) · pl krzywoprzysięzca (professional false witness) · ru профессиона́льный лжесвиде́тель (professional false witness)