foreign correspondent
Preserved but no longer current.
A newspaper corres- pondent living in foreign parts, not a cor- respondent who is a foreigner. Until The Times newspaper originated the system of sending specially equipped men to reside abroad and send news regularly, all foreign news was sent by casual and amateur correspondents whose own political views gave a distinctive colour to the news — or the presentation of it — they transmitted.
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 “foreign correspondent” mean?
A newspaper corres- pondent living in foreign parts, not a cor- respondent who is a foreigner. Until The Times newspaper originated the system of sending specially equipped men to reside abroad and send news regularly, all foreign news was sent by casual and amateur correspondents whose own political views gave a distinctive colour to the news — or the presentation of it — they transmitted.
Is “foreign correspondent” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.