leading question
Preserved but no longer current.
A question so worded as to suggest an answer. "Was he not dressed in a black coat?" leads to the answer "Yes." In cross-examining a witness, leading questions are permitted, because the chief object of a cross-examination is to obtain contradictions.
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 “leading question” mean?
A question so worded as to suggest an answer. "Was he not dressed in a black coat?" leads to the answer "Yes." In cross-examining a witness, leading questions are permitted, because the chief object of a cross-examination is to obtain contradictions.
Is “leading question” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.