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Grammar
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Member Location: Israel
Posts: 583
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Posted
Dear experts,
Would you agree that the expression GO OVER THE WALL can be used to convey two opposite meanings as in: go over the wall – 1. escape from prison: Us guys... pull wires to get jobs as guards, and you convicts go over the wall whenever you can. 2. go to prison: He would be observed ˜going over the wall' or ˜going to stir' (going to detention prison). Thank you, Yuri |
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Member Posts: 15190
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Posted
Yes, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, Volume XIX, pages 848-9. The entry under "wall", number 20, states:
"to go over the wall" and var.: (a) to go to prison; (b) to escape from prison; (c) to leave a religious order; (d) to defect to another country). Hence (e) over the wall adv. phr., escaped from prison; in prison. slang." Additionally, the entry illustrates how the word has been used in various publications from 1917 to 1976 and its various meanings. Rachel |
