Meanings
nounbankrupt cart (plural bankrupt carts)
plural bankrupt carts
- idiomaticobsoleteA one-horse chaise.
" No, no, I was too prudent when I was young to risk the expenses of a bankrupt cart, and now I am old I am too wise to attempt the difficult art of driving one."
1813, Harriet Corp, Cottage Sketches; Or, Active Retirement
Origin
Said to be so called by a Lord Chief Justice, from their being so frequently used on Sunday jaunts by extravagant shopkeepers and tradesmen.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
bankrupt cart. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bankrupt%20cart
MLA
“bankrupt cart.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bankrupt%20cart. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bankrupt cart,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bankrupt%20cart.
Source: bankrupt cart on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.