Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A box for receiving contributions of money for the poor, usually set at the entrance of a church.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A receptacle in which money given for the poor is placed.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative form of
poor box .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun box for collecting alms, especially one in a church
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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No, way, José: the object here is to name, shame and punish, not let them off with a pound out of the poorbox.
Archive 2008-09-14 2008
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No, way, José: the object here is to name, shame and punish, not let them off with a pound out of the poorbox.
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Young people preparing for confirmation might also be encouraged to deposit change they would otherwise spend on fripperies into a makeshift poorbox.
After asceticism Mike L 2007
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Young people preparing for confirmation might also be encouraged to deposit change they would otherwise spend on fripperies into a makeshift poorbox.
Archive 2007-04-01 Mike L 2007
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I have stolen from the poorbox, I've begged the city streets
Orphan Train 2000
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-- Were you robbing the poorbox, Joe? says I. -- Sweat of my brow, says Joe.
Ulysses James Joyce 1911
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He dhropped th 'kid at Father Kelly's feet, an' whipped off his long coat an 'wint tearin' f'r th 'dure, kickin' over th 'poorbox an' buttin 'ol' Mis 'O'Neill that'd come in to say th' stations.
Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War Finley Peter Dunne 1901
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They carry the train of the Virgin, assist the Apostles, act as ushers, occasionally pass the poorbox, make wreaths and crowns -- but, I am sorry to say, sometimes get into unseemly scuffles for first place.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 06 Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Artists Elbert Hubbard 1885
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Go in and stay as long as you choose; at the door is a poorbox and if you wish to put something in you can do so -- a sixpence most visitors put in, or a shilling if you insist upon it.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 02 Little Journeys To the Homes of Famous Women Elbert Hubbard 1885
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God has been good, and I will give St. James’s a thousand pounds for its poorbox.
Morgan’s Run Colleen McCullough 2000
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