rogues' gallery
/ɹoʊɡz ˈɡæl(ə)ɹi/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.99 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A set of pictures of convicted or suspected criminals used in law enforcement investigations to help witnesses identify suspects.
noun
A group of people having the same (usually disreputable) characteristics.
noun
A set of supervillains associated with a particular superhero franchise.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonym: lineup"
- "If there is good reason [for the police] to suspect him, they take his picture before they let him go, and then they tell him that he must be very careful and behave well, for they have his picture, and will remember him if he does not. Then they put the picture up in the rogues' gallery among the others, where everybody who comes there can see it."
- "Winsor's story is that while on the cars near Rochester in May last he was arrested on the charge of being one of a gang which had robbed a Mr. French of $10 on the train. He was dragged out of the car to various Police stations, and his portrait was taken for the Rogues' Gallery. […] Winsor now sues to recover $10,000 damages."
- "And he took from his pocket the photograph loaned him from the Rogues' Gallery, the one backed, No. 989, Billy Hickman, alias "Handsome Billy, alias Calvin, burglar, A1 at the business.""
- "Look through the pictures in the Rogues' Gallery and see how many rascals you find there who resemble the best people in the country. […] By the by, that is no uncommon occurrence, and the more you consider it the more readily you will come to appreciate how easy it is for a detective to pick up the wrong man."
- "Inspector [Thomas F.] Byrnes, of New York city, has his criminal record in his great history of the noted crooks of the present day. Ward's striking face, with its long white beard, is conspicuous in the principal rogues' galleries of this country and Europe."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɹoʊɡz ˈɡæl(ə)ɹi/
- British English: /ɹəʊɡz ˈɡæl(ə)ɹi/