Chiltern Hundreds

[ chil-tern ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

plural noun

, British.

certain crown lands, the stewardship of which is nominally bestowed on a member of the House of Commons to provide an excuse to resign, as members are not allowed to hold titular office from the crown.

Chiltern Hundreds

(in Britain) short for Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds ; a nominal office that an MP applies for in order to resign his seat

to apply for the Chiltern Hundreds, to resign or express a desire to resign from the House of Commons.

Colonel Fox, member for Stroud, accepted the Chiltern hundreds in his favour, and became secretary to the ordnance.

You 'd never know a happy day nor a joyous hour till you accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, and cut them all.

By this time those who would give me nothing else have nobly rewarded my merit with the Chiltern Hundreds.

But after all we only need a Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds who really understands cats and thieves.

He should have taken the Chiltern Hundreds, and immediately informed them that he had done so.

April 24, 2024gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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