affidavit man

English

Noun

affidavit man (plural affidavit men)

1. (archaic or historical) A man who (in the 1700s or 1800s) loitered around courts, offering to bear false witness.
   • 1742 January, “Proceedings of the Political Club &c”, in The London Magazine, page 222:

     We know how easy it is for Ministers to find Affidavit Men, and no Court in England could give the Gentleman any Redress, because the Search was every Night made according to the express Directions of an Act of Parliament. […] no Man could say, the Affidavit Man had taken a false Oath, when he swore he had Reason to suspect, that Seamen would be that night concealed in such a House; […]

See also

• straw shoe

References

• 1811 Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue