Definition, Meaning & Synonyms
whipping-post
Noun
/ˈwɪpɪŋ poʊst/
Definition
A whipping-post is a wooden post to which an offender is tied for punishment with a whip or lash.
Examples
- In earlier times, criminals were often brought to the town square and bound to a whipping-post for public punishment.
- The use of the whipping-post has been abolished in modern legal systems, replaced by more humane forms of justice.
Meaning
Historically used as a method of corporal punishment, a whipping-post symbolizes a place where one is subjected to physical punishment in public.
Synonyms
- stocks
- gallows
- lash post
