▪ I. pension, n.
(ˈpɛnʃən)
Forms: 4–6 pensioun, (4 -ci-, -sy-), 4–7 pencion, 5 pensone, pencyown, 5–6 pencyon, (6 -sy-), 6–7 pention, 5– pension.
[a. F. pension, -un (c 1225 in Hatz.-Darm.), ad. L. pensiōn-em payment, rent, f. pens-, ppl. stem of pendĕre to weigh, to pay: see -ion.
With the various senses cf. those of L. pensio in Du Cange.]
† 1. A payment made by, or exacted from, a person or persons; a tribute, tax, charge, imposition; a contribution; a price paid or received; an expenditure, expense, outlay. Also fig. Obs.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 419 He hilde Edwardes lawe wiþ þe amendynge þerof; he forȝaf þe grevous penciouns [Higden pensiones noxias remisit]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 391/2 Pencyone, dette to be payed, pensio. c 1440 Alph. Tales 397 He made hym fre of al maner of tributt & pension. a 1529 Skelton Col. Cloute 454 He payd a bitter pencyon For mannes redemcyon. 1572 R. T. Discourse 49 Paul the third pope of that name had registred fiue and forty thousand whores that payed euery moneth a pension or tribute to the pope, which did rise yerely to fortie thousand ducates. 1608 Topsell Serpents 76 Both rich and poor by their good husbandry do gather good customes and pensions by them [Bees]. 1627 Speed England xxxviii. §3 Humber..into which all the Riuers..emptie themselues.. as into the common-storehouse of Neptune for all the watery Pensions of this Prouince. a 1638 Mede Wks. (1672) 674 With some of them [Arabs] he is fain to be at a Pension for the safer passage of his Caravans. |
2. Eccl. A fixed payment out of the revenues of a benefice, upon which it forms a charge.
| [1316 Act 9 Edw. II, Stat. i. c. 11 Pro corrodiis, pensionibus, vel prehendinationibus. [Cf. 1327 Act 1 Edw. III, Stat. ii. c. 10.]] c 1380 Wyclif Last Age of Church (1840) 31 Goodis of holy Chirche þat prelatis wiþ holdeþ to hem, as pensiouns, firste frutis [etc.]. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xviii. (1885) 153 Yff hit woll lyke the kynge to yeve no corodie nor pencion, wich he hath be ryght off his corowne, off euery abbey, priory, and oþer howses. c 1525 Abp. Warham Let. to Wolsey in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. II. 31 The value of the benefices within the diocesse of Canterburie..with portions and pensions appropried and assigned to Monasteries and other religiouse places. 1627 W. Bedell in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 137 Pensions upon Churches, &c., granted to Religious Houses. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Pensionary, In the Romish countries it is frequent to have pensions on benefices... Pensions are now only creatable by the pope; and are never to exceed one third of the revenue. 1885 Cath. Dict. (ed. 3) 654/1 At the Council of Chalcedon, Maximus..requested the sanction of the Fathers to his assigning a pension out of the revenues of the see sufficient for the support of Domnus. |
† 3. a. Any regular payment made to a person for present services; stipend, salary, wages; fee.
Obs.| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 48 Men of lawe..Of princes and Prelatus heor pencion schulde aryse, And of þe pore peple no peneworþ to take. 1451 Yatton Churchw. Acc. (Somerset Rec. Soc.) 94 To Iohn Sloo for his pension. 1479 Eng. Gilds (1870) 423–4 The Pencions to be paide quarterly. Imprimis to the Maire... Item for his pencion, xx.li... Item to the Recorder... Item for his pencion, x.li... Item to the Towne Clerke for his pencion, iiij.li... Item to the Stewarde for his pencion, liij.s. iiij.d. 1549 Latimer 1st Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 40 The vicar that serueth..hath but .xii. or .xiiii. markes by yere, so that of thys pension he is not able to by him bokes, nor geue hys neyghboure dryncke. 1611 Bible 1 Esdras iv. 56 He commanded to giue to all that kept the city, pensions and wages. 1656–7 Davenant Rutland Ho. Dram. Wks. 1873 III. 226 Your servants..being confined within the narrow bounds of pension, are accomptable for all the orts by weight. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. ii. ii. (1869) I. 288 If a guinea be the weekly pension of a particular person, he can in the course of the week purchase with it [etc.]. |
In uses which approach 4:
b. Such a payment made to one who is not a professed servant or employee, to retain his alliance, good will, secret service, assistance when needed, etc.; a subvention, a subsidy, a fixed allowance.
c. A regular payment to persons of rank, royal favourites, etc., to enable them to maintain their state; also to men of learning or science, artists, etc., to enable them to carry on work which is of public interest or value.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxiii. 27 Welcum, my pensioun most preclair; Welcum, my awin Lord Thesaurair! a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 39 b, If the Frenche pencions be the susteiners of the Scottishe nobilitee..then plucke away Fraunce, and the courage of the nobles of Scotland shal be sone daunted. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 348, I meane, that your maiestie, of your owne accorde, giue many pensions to the maintenaunce of learning. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xix. 53 He.., augmenting her estate and pention, accounteth her amongst the number of his wiues. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xxxvi. (1647) 91 King Almerick..proffereth him a pension of forty thousand Ducates yearly for his behooffull assistance. 1653 Walton Angler i. 4 All men that keep Otter dogs ought to have a Pension from the Commonwealth to incourage them to destroy the very breed of..Otters. 1671–2 Sir C. Lyttelton in Hatton Corr. (Camden) 74, I heare my Lady Anne's pention was in y⊇ banquiers hands. 1718 Swift Abstr. Hist. Eng. Lett. etc. 1768 IV. 259 The king of England agreed to deliver him [William the Lion, king of Scotland] up those twelve towns (or manours) in England which Malcolm had held under William the Conqueror; together with a pension of twelve thousand marks. 1755 Johnson, Pension, an allowance made to any one without an equivalent. In England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his country. 1780 Harris Philol. Enq. Wks. (1841) 548 [Peter the Great] invited foreign professors not only to Petersburgh..but to his ancient capital Moscow; at both which places these professors were maintained with liberal pensions. 1815 Elphinstone Acc. Caubul (1842) II. 41 He holds some lands of the King, and receives a pension besides; in return, he is answerable for the safety of travellers in the Currapa Pass. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. I. 399 To appear with his troops at Coblentz in the territory of Treves, immediately after the election, in order to earn the pension promised him by the king. |
4. An annuity or other periodical payment made by a person or body of persons, now
esp. by a government, a company, or an employer of labour, in consideration of past services or of the relinquishment of rights, claims, or emoluments.
Such pensions are provided in most civilized countries by the State or other public body, for its officers and servants on retirement from active service, and for soldiers, sailors, and others on being disabled in the public service, or for their wives and families in the case of death; they are also frequently granted, as a matter of bounty, to aged artists, authors, etc., in recognition of eminent achievements, or to their widows or orphans when left in straitened circumstances.
old age pension, a pension or payment of so much per week or month paid to a workman or poor person (or, as in the
U.K. now, to every one) on reaching a specified age: see
old age pension as main entry.
| 1529 Wolsey Let. to Gardiner in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. II. 11 That I may have summe convenyent pencion reservyd unto me, suche as the Kyngs hyhnes of hys nobyl charite shal thynke mete. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. ii. v. 197. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 290 They who are maimed in the warres..haue from them a Pension for life, or the value of the Pension in ready mony. 1701 J. Jackson in Pepys' Diary (1879) VI. 232 The King has granted pensions to those poor families who suffered by this disaster. 1706 Q. Anne Message to Commons 9 Jan., It would be very agreeable to her Majesty, if the Pension of 5000l. per ann. be continued and limited by Act of Parliament to his [the Duke of Marlborough's] Posterity, for the more honourable Support of their Dignities. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 348 We have Chelsea and Greenwich hospitals for the sick and maimed, pensions for the widows of such as have been slain. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xxiv, Mr. Jolliffe not only obtained his promotion, but a pension for his wounds. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India I. 15 Shamshir Bahadur was content to desist from opposition, and to accept a pension for himself and for his family, with permission to reside at Banda. 1858 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art Add. ii, It ought to be quite as natural and straight⁓forward a matter for a labourer to take his pension from his parish, because he has deserved well of his parish, as for a man in higher rank to take his pension from his country, because he has deserved well of his country. 1878 Blackley Ess. Prev. Pauperism (1880) 28 The cost..{pstlg}14..would entitle the insurer to receive 8s. a week, whenever sick, till the age of 70, after which time he would draw a pension of 4s. per week as long as he lived. 1892 Academy 2 Jan. 12/3 [He] retires on a pension after forty years' service. 1892 C. Booth Pauperism ii. iv. 60 The father of the movement in favour of old-age pensions is Canon Blackley. With him must always remain the credit of whatever good may finally come out of any of these proposals. 1898 in Bouvier's Law Dict. II. 647 ‘Pensions are the bounties of the government, which Congress has the right to give, distribute, or recall at its discretion’ (107 U.S. 68). 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 468/2 (France) The State has to contribute to the old-age pensions, fixed..at not less than 90 and not more than 200 francs per person in favour of people aged seventy and upwards. |
† 5. The annual (or other periodical) payment made by each member of a gild, college, or society, towards its general expenses;
esp. that levied upon each member of an Inn of Court to defray the standing charges of the Inn (
e.g. maintenance and repair of buildings and gardens, salaries of officers, wages of servants, etc.).
Obs. Appears in the
Black Book of Lincoln's Inn from 1433.
| 1431 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 275 At ech of these ij. morowe spechis, euery brothir & sustir schall payen to y⊇ costage, for his pensyon, ij. denar. 1446–7 Black Bks. Lincoln's Inn (1899) I. 17 It is ordeyned..that no man be behynde of his pencyon ouer a ȝeer. 1569 Pension Bk. Gray's Inn (1901) 2 Hy hath one Chamber..chargeable with payment of pencion. 1630 Ibid. 299 It is ordered..that the steward from henceforth shall receive all pencions w{supc}{suph} shalbe due for the persons of every gentleman in this Societie. 1680 Dugdale Orig. Jurid. 212/2 Pensions are certain monys paid yearly by every one of the Society [Middle Temple]; viz. vis. viii{supd}. per annum. Ibid. 290 That no Officer compound for personal Pensions, but by authority from the Pension Councel. 1838 Black Bks. Lincoln's Inn IV. 198 To consider the propriety of discontinuing the words ‘Preacher’ and ‘Pensions’ as two items of the bills for dues. 1901 R. J. Fletcher in Pension Bk. Gray's Inn 1 note Pension, variously spelt in the MS. as Pencon, Pencion, Penc̄n or Pention, means a payment. |
† 6. a. Payment for board and lodging, or for the board and education of a child, etc.
Obs.| [1611 Cotgr., Pension,..also, money payed for the tabling, or boording of children.] 1696 Phillips (ed. 5), Pension,..a Summ pay'd by any Person for Dyet and Lodging. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. vi, The pension from each family for the education and entertainment of a child..is levied by the emperor's officers. 1796 E. Parsons Myst. Warning III. 5 A sum sufficient to pay for my pension in a convent for two or three years. 1803 M. Charlton Wife & Mistress II. 269 A household where she was to be tolerated for the pension she paid. |
b. A boarding-house, a lodging-house at a fixed rate;
occas. a boarding-school;
† also formerly a tavern, an ordinary. Now only as
Fr. (
pãsjɔ̃), and usually in reference to France or other Continental country.
| 1644 Evelyn Diary 8 Sept., I settled them in their pension and exercises. a 1652 Brome Damoiselle iv. i, Bump. Ile make one w'ye at your new Ordinary... Val...There's no such Pension in all this City. 1654 R. Flecknoe Ten Years Trav. 66 There being no Innes nor Pensions to lodge or eat at, as with us. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 18, I then went to lodge in Galata, at a Flemand's House..who kept a Pension. 1778 J. Adams Diary 12 May, My little son, and the other young Americans, at the Pension, dined with us. 1833 R. Pinkerton Russia 152 There is also a respectable Pension or Boarding-school for Young Ladies. 1837 Marryat Olla Podr. xxxvii, The price demanded is the same as at the pensions, viz. 200 francs..per month. 1845 Talfourd Vac. Rambles I. 155 Gay toy-shops, and flowering shrubs, and green-shuttered white ‘Pensions’. |
† c. to be or live in pension: to live as a boarder in lodgings, to board. So
to put in (to), place on pension.
Obs. (Now usually F.
en pension.)
| 1598 Dallington Meth. Trav. B iv b, I would not haue him at his owne prouision. Let him be still in pension with others. 1665 Verney Mem. (1899) IV. 121 We are 16 of my uncle and aunts family, and all in pention, att 10s. a weeke for owerselves, and 7s. for owr servants with lodgens in. 1672–3 Dryden Assignation iv. i, My two nieces..are to be placed on pension there. 1714 Mrs. Manley Adv. Rivella 96 She was put for sometime to Pension..at a poor Woman's House. [1816 Shelley Lett. Pr. Wks. 1880 III. 353, I wish you to look out for a home for me and Mary and William, and the kitten who is now en pension.] |
7. [from 5] A consultative assembly of the members of Gray's Inn, one of the Inns of Court in London:
cf. parliament 5 b.
| 1570 Pension Bk. Gray's Inn 7 At this pencion yt is ordered that all suche persons [etc.]. 1664 Ibid. 449 It is ordred y{supt} Mr. Beale shall bee summoned to attend y⊇ next pencion. 1663 in Waterhouse Comm. Fortescue's De Laud. Leg. 546 Every quarter,..the Readers and Benchers cause one of the Officers to summon the whole Company openly in the Hall at dinner, that such a night the Pension, or as some houses call it, the Parliament, shall be holden, which Pension, or Parliament in some houses, is nothing else but a conference and Assembly of their Benchers and Utter-Barresters onely. 1670 Blount Law Dict. s.v., That which in the Two Temples, is called a Parliament, in Lincolns-Inn, a Council; in Gray's-Inn, is called a Pension; that is, an Assembly of the Members of the Society, to consult of the Affairs of the House. 1897 Daily News 30 Jan. 8/5 At a pension held yesterday Mr. Mattinson, Q.C., Recorder of Blackburn, was elected treasurer of the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn for the ensuing year. |
¶ 8. Put for
pensioner.
Obs. rare.
| 1544 Suppl. to Hen. VIII C j b, The greate burden wherwith this your realme..is ouercharged through the greate multytude of chauntery prestes, soule prestes..muncke pencyons, morowe mas prestes. |
9. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 4)
pension act,
pension age,
pension benefit,
pension book,
pension fund,
pension law,
pension money,
pension plan,
pension right,
pension scheme;
pension-fee,
pension-list,
pension-monger,
pension-schemer, etc.; (senses 5–7)
pension book,
pension house,
pension roll,
pension room,
pension writ; (sense 6)
pension-boarder,
pension-keeper,
pension principle,
pension school;
pension-dwelling,
pension-paying,
pension-proof adjs.;
pension-parliament: see
parliament 8.
The
pl. form
pensions also occurs in some of the above expressions.
| 1839 Southern Lit. Messenger V. 314/1 A few tardy *pension acts..are all the tributes their worth has received. 1968 G. D. Gilling-Smith Compl. Guide Pensions (ed. 2) i. 16 The 1908 Old Age Pensions Act provided a small amount for those who were already old and unable to provide for themselves. |
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 26 July 3/1 The cost..is roughly estimated at {pstlg}2,340,000 if the *pension age is sixty, and {pstlg}1,455,000 if the pension age is sixty-five. |
| 1945 Release & Resettlement (H.M. Govt.) xii. 40 *Pensions benefits comprise pensions for widows..and orphans, and old age pensions. |
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 26 Feb. 2/1 The villa folk..meet the *pension-boarders on terms of slight superiority. |
| 1557 Order of Hospitalls F v b, Yow shall also keepe a *Pencion-Booke whiche shall declare the Number of the poore in this Citie, relieud by this Hospitall. 1569 Pension Bk. Gray's Inn 2 That all thys graunt may be entred into the pencion booke. 1966 Listener 17 Mar. 391/2 One result of having this new unified social security administration will be that the pensions book and the National Assistance book..will become one book. 1968 ‘C. Aird’ Henrietta Who? ix. 77 Did you ever see your mother's pension book? 1974 Times 6 Mar. 4/3 A child's printing outfit was used in a scheme to cash stolen pension books with a face value of more than {pstlg}750,000. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 170 [Siccius Dentatus was honoured] with a stipend or *pension-fee out of the Exchequer & chamber of the city. |
| 1869 Bradshaw's Railway Manual XXI. 361 Donation to the *pension fund, 18,573l. 1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara iii. 269 Have you gone into the insurance fund, the pension fund, the building society, the various applications of co-operation!? 1965 H. I. Ansoff Corporate Strategy (1968) vi. 104 At the other extreme from a fully integrated firm is a company which primarily buys and sells. This may be an investment trust, a pension fund. 1973 A. Behrend Samarai Affair iv. 51 ‘Will the Company look after him?’ ‘I suppose so. Their pension fund's all right.’ 1976 New Yorker 15 Nov. 176/2 In addition to making contract concessions, the union members, through their pension funds..have become the city's bankers, lending it nearly two billion dollars in the past year. |
| 1577 Pension Bk. Gray's Inn 30 A good and substanciall chist..to remayne in the *pencion house..for the keping of the bookes of account and pencion Roles. 1601 Ibid. 153 Mr. Necton beinge warned to come to the pencion house hath refused to come. |
| 1838 Southern Lit. Messenger IV. 766 When the revolutionary *pension-law was enacted, a majority of the war-worn veterans had travelled..beyond the reach of human reward. |
| 1816 Gentl. Mag. LXXXVI. i. 116 The *Pension-list was full. |
| 1663 in Waterhouse Comm. Fortescue's De Laud. Leg. 544 The four houses of Court{ddd}every one that is admitted fellow, after that he is called to the Masters Commons, payeth yearly 3. shillings 4. pence which they call the *pension mony. 1749 New Hamps. Probate Rec. (1916) III. 733, I give..all my Waidges Prize money Pention money [etc.]. 1854 B. P. Shillaber Life & Sayings Mrs. Partington 190 The old lady had presented a check for a quarter's pension-money. 1953 Stroud's Judicial Dict. (ed. 3) III. 2143 Pension money reduced into possession by the pensioner or his agent loses its character of pension. |
| a 1843 Rose in Byron's Wks. (1846) 230/2 note, My trade of place and *pension-monger. |
| 1901 Empire Rev. I. 427 Habitual drunkards and convicted criminals are to be rejected in Victoria as in the other *pension-paying colonies. |
| 1957 Clark & Gottfried Dict. Business & Finance 262/1 *Pension plan, in business, a plan established and maintained by an employer to provide in a systematic manner for the payment of regular pension amounts to retired or disabled employees. 1961 Factory Nov. 101/1 Choose carefully between contributory or non-contributory pension plans. 1973 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 31 Aug. 2/4 (Advt.), Metropolitan Life can help you set up a pension plan that will entitle you to the same Federal Income Tax deductions available to other corporations. |
| 1807 E. S. Barrett Rising Sun I. 189 Quirk was *pension-proof against all this womanish artillery. |
| 1956 G. A. Hosking Pension Schemes xli. 283 The existence of a pension scheme acts as a deterrent when withdrawal means loss of *pension rights. 1974 O. Manning Rain Forest i. vi. 87 Temporary and without pension rights, the appointment carried a special salary. |
| 1508–9 Black Bks. Lincoln's Inn (1899) I. 159 Item, to the Botillers for wrytyng the *Pencion Roll ijs. viijd. 1651 Ibid. II. 392 The Butler is every term to make up a Pencion Roll. 1828 A. Sherburne Mem. vi. 239 This gentle⁓man..forwarded to me certificates of the continuation of my name on the pension roll. 1907 Westm. Gaz. 5 Apr. 10/1 Miss Robb..was the posthumous child of Captain Robb,..and was put on the State pension-roll at birth. |
| 1721 Black Bks. Lincoln's Inn III. 261 Over the *Pention Roome and under the Library of this Society. |
| 1892 C. S. Loch Old Age Pensions & Pauperism 3 The returns of pauperism in England and Wales are frequently quoted as absolute evidence in favour of some kind of National *Pension Scheme. 1928 Robertson & Samuels Pension & Superannuation Funds viii. 79 Pension schemes are growing up not only in industry proper; many institutions..have their own schemes of superannuating those in their service. 1969 T. Parker Twisting Lane 16, I was in a good pension scheme too. 1973 L. Holcombe Victorian Ladies at Work iii. 39 The government in 1875 revived its original teacher's pension scheme, established in 1846 but abolished in 1861. 1977 W. McIlvanney Laidlaw xxx. 140 He's worried about his family... They don't have a great pension-scheme for house-breakers. |
| 1902 Westm. Gaz. 28 May 2/1 The *pension⁓school life of Hanover, Dresden and Leipzig..seems a harmless enough amusement for an ordinary girl of seventeen or eighteen with some money and sufficient good sense. |
| 1537 Cal. Inner Temple Rec. (1896) I. 115 Yt is also agreed..at the said parliament that a *pencion-writt shalbe served, wherby the dettes of the Howse may the soner be paid. 1576 Pension Bk. Gray's Inn 27 It is agreed that a pencion writt be forthwyth suede. 1670 Blount Law Dict., Pension-Writ. When a Pension-Writ is once issued, none, sued thereby in an Inns of Court, shall be discharged or permitted to come in Commons, till all duties be paid. |
▪ II. pension, v. (
ˈpɛnʃən)
[f. pension n.; in sense 2 corresp. to F. pensionner (1465 in Hatz.-Darm.), med.L. pensiōnāre (1382 in Du Cange).] 1. intr. To live or stay in a pension or boarding-house; to board and lodge.
| 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 27 When they meet with any person of note..and journey or pension with him any time. 1649 Nicholas Papers (Camden) I. 129 For you to pension, unless there were company sutable for you, would not I conceave be agreeable. 1714 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to W. Montagu 9 Aug., It is the same thing as pensioning in a nunnery. 1879 W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 450 The small country house where we pensioned. |
2. trans. To grant a pension to, bestow a pension upon; also (contextually), to retain or buy over with a pension.
to pension off, to dismiss with a pension, to pension on retirement. Also
fig. So
pensioned-off ppl. a.
| 1702 Addison Dial. Medals iii. Wks. 1736 III. 161 One might expect, methinks, to see the Medals of that nation in the highest perfection, when there is a society pensioned and set apart on purpose for the designing of them. 1737 Pope Hor. Epist. ii. i. 387 The hero William, and the Martyr Charles, One knighted Blackmore, and one pension'd Quarles. 1800 Wellesley in Owen Desp. 657 The adoption of a plan for pensioning public officers incapable of service is required. 1848 Geo. Eliot Let. 8 Mar. (1954) I. 254 Certainly our decayed monarchs should be pensioned off. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 208 He bribed and stimulated both parties in turn, pensioned at once the ministers of the crown and the chiefs of the opposition. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xv, You have taken it into your head that I mean to pension you off. 1880 G. Meredith Let. 27 Apr. (1970) II. 595 Owing to the attack I suffered under last year, I have been pensioned off all work of any worth of late. 1898 G. B. Shaw Let. 1 Sept. (1972) II. 60 My mother and I had to pension off and get rid of a relative of hers—a woman who was an incorrigible drunkard. 1916 ― Androcles & Lion Pref. p. lxvi, Poor people are cancers in the commonwealth, costing far more than if they were handsomely pensioned off as incurables. a 1953 E. O'Neill More Stately Mansions (1965) iii. i. 154 We'll pension off your mother, and give her the house to live alone in. 1965 D. Francis Odds Against xi. 154, I..asked him to lend me his hack, a pensioned-off old steeplechaser. 1968 Listener 5 Sept. 290 The convention system..is an old and cunning harridan, as irrelevant as Mayor Daley, and should be pensioned off. 1973 C. Bonington Next Horizon ix. 131 Gone was the crusty old pensioned-off guide, who lived in a little cubby-hole at the end of the..living room. 1973 Times 14 July 8/8 What the BBC publication seems to me to need is the attention of a first-class design consultant who might suggest for example that the rule which, like a rectangular noose, strangles each page, should be pensioned off. 1974 J. Cleary Peter's Pence v. 144 Cork had had no gangsters, just some pensioned-off IRA boys. 1977 R.A.F. News 11–24 May 18/5 This is my last match report before being pensioned off. |