The Five Members
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Pym, Hampden, Hasel- rig, Strode, and Holies; the five members of the Long Parliament whom Charles I attempted to arrest in 1642.
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 “The Five Members” mean?
Pym, Hampden, Hasel- rig, Strode, and Holies; the five members of the Long Parliament whom Charles I attempted to arrest in 1642.
Is “The Five Members” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.