at the bar

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The prisoner at the bar, the prisoner in the dock before the judge.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Examples

Tom sat at the bar, just staring at his drink.Tom ngồi trong quán bar, chỉ nhìn chằm chằm vào đồ uống của mình.
Tom sat at the bar, just staring at his drink.Tom ngồi trong quán bar, chỉ nhìn chằm chằm vào đồ uống của mình.

Tatoeba sentence #3223170 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “at the bar” mean?

The prisoner at the bar, the prisoner in the dock before the judge.

Is “at the bar” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.