English · Idiom Historical

the ghost walks

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Theatrical slang for salaries are about to be paid; when there's no money in the treasury actors say "the ghost won't walk this time.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Lời lóng trong sân khấu cho việc lương sắp được trả

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

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.

Topics: Devils & ghosts Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “the ghost walks” mean?

Theatrical slang for salaries are about to be paid; when there's no money in the treasury actors say "the ghost won't walk this time.

Is “the ghost walks” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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