Fourteen Hundred
Preserved but no longer current.
The cry raised on the Stock Exchange to give notice that a stranger has entered the "House." The term is said to have been in use in Defoe's time, and to have originated at a time when for a considerable period the number of members had remained stationary at 1399.
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 “Fourteen Hundred” mean?
The cry raised on the Stock Exchange to give notice that a stranger has entered the "House." The term is said to have been in use in Defoe's time, and to have originated at a time when for a considerable period the number of members had remained stationary at 1399.
Is “Fourteen Hundred” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.