drum-head court-martial
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
One held in haste; a court-martial summoned on the field round the drum to deal summarily with an offender.
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 “drum-head court-martial” mean?
One held in haste; a court-martial summoned on the field round the drum to deal summarily with an offender.
Is “drum-head court-martial” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.