To count out the House
Preserved but no longer current.
To declare the House of Commons adjourned because there are not forty members present. The Speaker has his attention called to the fact, and if he finds that this is so, he declares the sitting over.
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 “To count out the House” mean?
To declare the House of Commons adjourned because there are not forty members present. The Speaker has his attention called to the fact, and if he finds that this is so, he declares the sitting over.
Is “To count out the House” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.