Abbey Laird (An)
. An insolvent debtor sheltered by the precincts of Holyrood Abbey.
“As diligence cannot be proceeded with on Sunday, the Abbey Lairds (as they were jocularly called) were enabled to come forth on that day to mingle in our society.”—R. Chambers.
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Entry taken from
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,
edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.