Allye Pearrow
Search results
Jul 23, 2015 · When someone talks about being “read the riot act,” it usually means they’ve been caught engaging in antisocial behavior and chastised accordingly. But it’s not just a quirky idiom—the ...
The latest news from Canberra and the ACT region. Featuring top opinion, business, property, food and wine, motoring, community and lifestyle stories.
5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled and order them to disperse or face punitive action.
Feb 8, 2022 · The City of Ottawa’s legal department has offered city councillors eight potential legal avenues to help dispel protesters, starting with, quite literally, reading them the Riot Act.
- Joanne Laucius
Many sources on the Internet claim the Riot Act was passed in 1715; according to Statutes At Large it was passed in 1714. The confusion may be caused by the fact that the Act took effect in August of 1715.
4 days ago · An Act to prevent civil disorder passed by the British Parliament in 1715. The Act made it a serious crime for anyone to refuse to obey the command of lawful authority to disperse; thus the Act imposed upon the civil magistrates the dangerous duty of attending a riot, or a large meeting which might become riotous, and reading the Riot Act.
Since the early 19th century we have used ‘read the riot act’ as a figurative phrase to describe attempts to calm groups of rowdies – along the same lines as ‘you noisy louts, don’t you know there are people here trying to sleep?’.
