upright man

plural upright men · alternative Upright Man

1. UKarchaicthieves' cantThe leader of a group of thieves or vagrants.

   I hope then you can cant, for by your cudgels, you sirra are an upright man.

   1611, Thomas Middleton, The Roaring Girle

   1 more example

   And the gentry had kind hearts, and would have given baith lap and pannel to ony puir gypsy; and there was not one, from Johnnie Faa the upright man, to little Christie that was in the panniers, would cloyed a dud from them.

   1815, Sir Walter Scott, Guy Mannering

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see upright, man.

   Later He gave him freedom from the Lord to live alone as an upright man to cultivate and keep His garden called Eden.

   2013, Danson Enogiomwan Ubebe, Return to God: The ABC of 'set Free by Knowing the Truth', →ISBN, page 19

   Synonyms: criminal leader

plural Upright Men

1. alternativeAlternative form of upright man.

   The Upright Man who performed the ceremony was the elected King of the Beggars, the Rector Chory or Dimber-Damber.

   1936, Ronald Fuller, The Beggars' Brotherhood, page 92

   1 more example

   The Upright Man, the chief of the crew, arose from his chair, donned his gown of state, a very ancient brocade dressing gown, filched, most probably, from the wardrobe of some strolling player, grasped his baton of office, a stout oaken truncheon, and sallied forth.

   1834, William Harrison Ainsworth, Rookwood, volume 2, page 303