blind hedge
Preserved but no longer current.
A ha-ha (q. v.) . Blind Magistrate, The. Sir John Fielding, knighted in 1761, was born blind. Sitting at Bow Street, he was m the commission of the Peace for Middlesex, Surrey, Essex, and the liberties of Westminster.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
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 “blind hedge” mean?
A ha-ha (q. v.) . Blind Magistrate, The. Sir John Fielding, knighted in 1761, was born blind. Sitting at Bow Street, he was m the commission of the Peace for Middlesex, Surrey, Essex, and the liberties of Westminster.
Is “blind hedge” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.