bolt in tun
Preserved but no longer current.
In heraldry, a bird-bolt, in pale, piercing through a tun, often used as a public-house sign. The punning crest of Serjeant Bolton, who died 1787, was "on a wreath a tun erect proper, transpierced by an arrow fesseways or." Another family ot the same name has for crest "a tun with a bird- bolt through it proper." A third, harping on the same string, has "a bolt gules in a tun or.
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 “bolt in tun” mean?
In heraldry, a bird-bolt, in pale, piercing through a tun, often used as a public-house sign. The punning crest of Serjeant Bolton, who died 1787, was "on a wreath a tun erect proper, transpierced by an arrow fesseways or." Another family ot the same name has for crest "a tun with a bird- bolt through it proper." A third, harping on the same string, has "a bolt gules in a tun or.
Is “bolt in tun” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.