running footmen
Preserved but no longer current.
Men servants in the early part of the 18th century, when no great house was complete without some half-dozen of them. Their duty was to run beside the fat Flemish mares of the period, and advise the innkeeper of the coming guests. The pole which they carried was to help the cumbrous coach out of the numerous sloughs. It is said that the notorious "Old Q" was the last to employ running footmen.
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 “running footmen” mean?
Men servants in the early part of the 18th century, when no great house was complete without some half-dozen of them. Their duty was to run beside the fat Flemish mares of the period, and advise the innkeeper of the coming guests. The pole which they carried was to help the cumbrous coach out of the numerous sloughs. It is said that the notorious "Old Q" was the last to employ running footmen.
Is “running footmen” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.