Language: en
Meaning: (heraldry,considerednonstandard)Abend sinisterorbaton sinisterin acoat of arms.1825,Sir Walter Scott, chapter 24, inThe Talisman:"A king's son, though with thebar sinisteron his shield, is at least a match for this marmoset of a marquis."1906,Arthur Quiller-Couch, chapter 1, inSir John Constantine:At any rate nobar sinisterappeared on the imperial escutcheon.2001May 7, “Obituary: Henry Lumley-Savile”, inThe Independent, UK, retrieved4 April 2014:They were descended from the Earls of Halifax and Scarbrough but, as thebar sinisterin the Savile coat of arms suggests, illegitimately.; (idiomatic,euphemistic)The state or characteristic of having been bornout of wedlock;illegitimacy;bastardy.1900,Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter 16, inThe House Behind The Cedars:He was not influenced by sordid considerations. . . . Had she been merely of illegitimate birth, he would have overlooked thebar sinister.1912,Jack London, chapter 8, inA Son Of The Sun:Parlay's a full-blooded Frenchman. . . . About a hundred miserable Paumotans lived on the island. He married the queen—native fashion. . . . Now before the queen died she gave birth to a girl. . . . She was educated like a princess, and she accepted herself in much the same way. Also, she thought she was all-white, and never dreamed of abar sinister.1936October 26, “Science: Smithsonian's Year”, inTime, retrieved27 March 2014:James Smithson was the illegitimate son of the first Duke of Northumberland, third creation. His mother was a lineal descendant of Henry VII. Despite so much blue blood, thebar sinisterseared James Smithson all his life.; (idiomatic,by extension)A state or characteristic which isdishonorableorshameful; astigma.1863October 3, “A Rumor of Recognition”, inNew York Times, retrieved4 April 2014:Europe is troubled with sensational rumors as well as our own country. Among the most recent was one prevailing at Paris that Maximilian I, Emperor elect of Mexico, had recognized the independence of the Confederate States. But this rumor was pronounced improbable from the fact that Maximilian had not yet been formally offered the crown by the deputation from Mexico charged with the duty of tendering it. This does seem abar sinisterto the report that has doubtless ere this given much joy in Dixie.2013Sep. 13, Dr. Yogendra Yadav, "Present Generation and Mahatma Gandhi,Peace and Collaborative Development Network(retrieved 4 April 2014):Then there is untouchability. . . . There are thousands of men and women like me who cling to Hinduism; because they believe that there is in it the amplest scope for mental, moral and spiritual expansion. Thisbar sinisterput upon nearly sixty million human beings is a standing demonstration against that claim. Men like me feel that untouchability is no integral part of Hinduism. It is an excrescence.
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