come upon the town

English

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

(UK, obsolete, euphemistic) To become a prostitute; to turn to prostitution.[1]
- 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter VIII, in Pride and Prejudice, volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton […], →OCLC, page 144:
  To be sure, it would have been more for the advantage of conversation had Miss Lydia Bennet come upon the town; or, as the happiest alternative, been secluded from the world, in some distant farm house.
(US) To receive public charity; to have one's living supported by public funding.[2]
Synonym: come upon the parish
- 1879, Historical Celebration of the Town of Brimfield, Hampden County, Mass, Clark W. Bryan Company, page 65,
  While Brimfield people have never been very rich, they have been prudent and thrifty, and there have been very few so poor as to come upon the town for support.
- 1912, Ada Harriet Kepley, A Farm Philosopher, Worman's Printery, page 149,
  The daughter had children and they all three came upon the town for support, for they would not work.
(US) To make one's debut in town society; to become (known as) a man or woman about town.[3]

2014, V. Jones (editor), Pride and Prejudice, →ISBN, page 398.
1877, John Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms, 4th Edition, page 135.
1895, William Dwight Whitney (editor-in-chief), The Century Dictionary, Volume II, page 1121.

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.