hue and cry
from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 17, 2009 is: hue and cry • \HYOO-und-KRYE\ • noun 1 a : a loud outcry formerly used in the pursuit of one who is suspected of a crime b : the pursuit of a suspect or a written proclamation for the capture of a suspect 2 : a clamor of protest 3 : hubbub Examples: After the popular professor was fired by the college, students raised such a hue and cry on campus that the administration was forced to reconsider its decision. Did you know? Let's say it's the Middle Ages in England and a villainous highwayman has just made off with your purse of gold. What do you do? You can't call 911, or even the police, because in medieval England there was no organized police force (much less telephones). Instead, the job of fighting crime fell to ordinary citizens. If you were the victim of or a witness to a crime, you were expected to make a lot of noise -- yelling something like "stop thief!" -- and anyone who heard your "hue and cry" was legally bound to join in the pursuit of the criminal. Forms of the term "hue and cry" date from at least the 13th century and are first encountered in the Anglo-French legal documents of that period. Ultimately, it can be traced to the Old French words "hue," meaning "outcry" or "noise," and "cri," meaning "cry."
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