Marked with a T
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Notified as a felon. Persons convicted of felony, and admitted to the benefit of clergy, were branded on the thumb with the letter T (thief). The law authorizing this was abolished in 1827.
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 “Marked with a T” mean?
Notified as a felon. Persons convicted of felony, and admitted to the benefit of clergy, were branded on the thumb with the letter T (thief). The law authorizing this was abolished in 1827.
Is “Marked with a T” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.