/ · 1894 Brewer’s · L · Lockman
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
An executioner; so called because one of his dues was a lock (or ladleful) of meal from every caskful exposed for sale in the market. In the Isle of Man the under-sheriff is so called.
1
· ·
Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.
· 
· 