rogue's badge
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A race-horse or a hunter that becomes obstinate and refuses to do its work is known as a rogue, and the blinkers that it is made to wear are the rogue's badge.
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 “rogue's badge” mean?
A race-horse or a hunter that becomes obstinate and refuses to do its work is known as a rogue, and the blinkers that it is made to wear are the rogue's badge.
Is “rogue's badge” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.