outrun the constable
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Sense 1
To escape debt or financial obligations
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Sense 2
A man who has lived above his means, or income, is said to have outrun the constable.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “outrun the constable” mean?
To escape debt or financial obligations Literally: run faster than a law enforcement officer
Is “outrun the constable” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.