Pitt's Pictures
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
"Blind" windows used to be so called, because many windows were blocked up when William Pitt augmented the window tax in 1784, and again in 1797.
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 “Pitt's Pictures” mean?
"Blind" windows used to be so called, because many windows were blocked up when William Pitt augmented the window tax in 1784, and again in 1797.
Is “Pitt's Pictures” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.