General Issue
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The plea of "Not guilty" to a criminal charge; "Never indebted" to a charge of debt; the issue formed by a general denial of the plaintiff's charge.
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 “General Issue” mean?
The plea of "Not guilty" to a criminal charge; "Never indebted" to a charge of debt; the issue formed by a general denial of the plaintiff's charge.
Is “General Issue” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.