Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- A village of southern Scotland on the English border. From 1754 to 1856 it was a common destination for eloping English couples seeking to wed under Scotland's relatively lax marriage laws.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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After all, it is but what you call a Gretna Green marriage. "
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"Just the mention of the name Gretna Green conjures up visions of eloping young lovers, climbing through windows and down ladders before running away to Scotland to get married.
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"Gretna Green," to bivouac there for the night, and to be ready to start with the first light of morning.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force An Episode of Frontier War Winston S. Churchill 1919
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"Gretna Green," Basil answered with such prompt decision that Aline was surprised.
The Heather-Moon 1889
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Tubac became a kind of Gretna Green for runaway couples from Sonora; as the priest there charged them twenty-five dollars, and the Alcalde of
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The term "Gretna Green" has since come to symbolize locations that offer less restrictive age, medical, licensure or residency requirements (see Ginger Frere, "Searching
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But the law as laid down by the high court in the Strand suddenly seemed to stop short at Dover or, indeed, Gretna Green.
As Twitter and WikiLeaks make a mockery of the high court, is this the end of privacy as we know it? 2011
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Graham Birchwood, who was in the red by £150,000, met Sharon when they were teenagers and they eloped to Gretna Green three years later.
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They dared not tarry much past daylight, because the threat of their pursuers catching up was ever present, if remote, for who would expect to find them in Gretna Green?
Shameless KAREN ROBARDS 2010
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A SMALL VILLAGE in the south of Dumfriesshire, Gretna Green was less than four miles from the River Sark, which served as the dividing line between England and Scotland.
Shameless KAREN ROBARDS 2010
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