Idiom idiom
bankrupt cart
Meaning
A one-horse chaise.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He drove his bankrupt cart to the market.”
“The traveler arrived at the village inn riding in a small, weathered bankrupt cart.”
“The old merchant preferred the modest pace of his bankrupt cart to the faster carriages favored by the wealthy elite.”
Origin
disputed origin
disputed 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.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026