Oakes's Oath
Preserved but no longer current.
Unreliable testimony delivered on oath. The phrase is said to derive from one Oakes who was asked in a Court of Law if he could identify a pair of horns as belonging to one of his own cattle. After hesitating a moment he is reported to have said, "I'll chance it; Yes!" Oakley, Annie. An expert American marks- woman (1860-1926), who in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, using a playing card as a target, centred a shot in each of the pips.
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 “Oakes's Oath” mean?
Unreliable testimony delivered on oath. The phrase is said to derive from one Oakes who was asked in a Court of Law if he could identify a pair of horns as belonging to one of his own cattle. After hesitating a moment he is reported to have said, "I'll chance it; Yes!" Oakley, Annie. An expert American marks- woman (1860-1926), who in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, using a playing card as a target, centred a shot in each of the pips.
Is “Oakes's Oath” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.