word of the day: ticket-of-leave
This is another Britishism. I don’t write Word of the Day posts about jargon, the sort of word you will only ever hear among a certain coterie, technical talk. The words usually aren’t particularly interesting in themselves, for one thing, but also they don’t travel. You can’t drop a medical word into a nonmedical conversation, for instance. British terms don’t necessarily travel to America.
The word comes up when Miss Bianca, the leader of the Mouse Prisoners’ Aid Society, asks a prisoner if he has heard of the organization:
‘Long ago, when I was out in the world I indeed heard such a Society spoken of, among ticket-of-leave men. … good work it did … cheering and befriending the unfortunate!’
definition (dictionary.com): British. (formerly) a permit allowing a convict to leave prison, under certain restrictions, and go to work before having served a full term, somewhat similar to a certificate of parole.
A ticket-of-leave man is a parolee, then. The definition source suggests that the term is not current. But I like it. It seems neutral. A ticket-of-leave, even sounds kind of nice, doesn’t it?
[My sister, who put in a full career with the Seattle detention center, suggests, "work release," might be a good equivalent.]
source:
The Turret
by Margery Sharp
illustrations by Garth Williams
1963. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston
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