Pronounced: FAH-sick, verb
Notes: I don’t feel too bad about not knowing this word
Yesterday’s phrase
The phrase Jedburgh justice means “punishment before trial”
First usage
Our word came into English in the late 1600s
Background / Comments
Apparently, our word is also known by the names “Jedwood justice” or “Jeddart justice”. The town of Jedburgh is in Scotland, near Edinburgh. When King James I came to the English throne (he was King James VI in Scotland), there was a terrible problem with raiding along the England-Scotland border by “reivers” (mercenary soldiers that raided the borders for whatever they wanted – money, sheep, cattle, horses, or food. They would also abuse women and hold some people for ransom). King James was determined to eradicate the reivers, and many people were hung immediately. This practice gave rise to the saying “hang now, ask questions later” (which survives today as “shoot first; ask questions later”).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 