knight of the post
Preserved but no longer current.
A man who had stood in the pillory or had been flogged at the whipping- post was so called; hence, one who haunted the purlieus of the courts, ready to be hired for a bribe to give false witness, go bail for a debtor for pay, etc.
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 “knight of the post” mean?
A man who had stood in the pillory or had been flogged at the whipping- post was so called; hence, one who haunted the purlieus of the courts, ready to be hired for a bribe to give false witness, go bail for a debtor for pay, etc.
Is “knight of the post” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.