pocket judgment
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A bond under the hand of a debtor, countersigned by the sovereign. It could be enforced without legal process, but for long has fallen into disuse.
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 “pocket judgment” mean?
A bond under the hand of a debtor, countersigned by the sovereign. It could be enforced without legal process, but for long has fallen into disuse.
Is “pocket judgment” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.