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Many people were displeased when George I became king of England in 1714, and his opponents were soon leading rebellions and protests against him. The British government, anxious to stop the protests, passed a law called the "Riot Act." It allowed public officials to break up gatherings of 12 or more people by reading aloud a proclamation, warning those who heard it that they must disperse within the hour or be guilty of a felony punishable by death. By 1819, "riot act" was also being used more generally for any stern warning or reprimand. Although the law long ago fell into disuse and was finally repealed in 1973, the term that it generated lives on today.
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Examples of riot act in a Sentence
Alexandra Koster, refinery29.com, 11 Feb. 2024
That includes the recent case of James Young, which the Daily News first reported last month, who wasn’t transferred to a medical facility for a highly contagious MRSA infection until Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Dora Irizarry read Bureau of Prisons lawyers and prosecutors the riot act.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2024
Linda spots her tree amidst the blinding lights and snatches the DJ's mic to read the crowd the riot act.
—EW.com, 27 Nov. 2023
Reading ‘em the riot act: In the Week 5 win over the Rams, DeMarcus Lawrence gathered all the defensive players together in the bench area after a bad series and delivered a fire-and-brimstone speech.
—Dallas News, 17 Oct. 2022
Reich is 4-4 against the Titans in his four seasons in Indianapolis, but the Colts have lost four of their last five against Mike Vrabel’s Titans, and after the first loss on the road last season, Irsay read his coaching staff the riot act.
—The Indianapolis Star, 2 Oct. 2022
During the questioning, Kayla ignores Torres' instructions to wait in the car, and Vance reads her the riot act.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 8 Mar. 2022
M-Rod and Sanoe Lake come to clean the room Kate Bosworth is a guest in (awkward) and read her the riot act for choosing a guy over surfing.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2022
Around 2016, senior SEAL commander Jamie Sands read the East Coast teams the riot act.
—Catherine Herridge, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Riot act.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/riot%20act. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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