debts of honour
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Debts contracted by betting or gambling, so called because these debts cannot be enforced as such by law.
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 “debts of honour” mean?
Debts contracted by betting or gambling, so called because these debts cannot be enforced as such by law.
Is “debts of honour” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.