Belisha beacon

/ bəˈliːʃə /

noun

1. a flashing light in an orange globe mounted on a post, indicating a pedestrian crossing on a road

Word History and Origins

Origin of Belisha beacon¹

C20: named after Leslie Hore- Belisha (1893–1957), British politician

Example Sentences

She recalled making her own moisturiser for her dolls and herself, adding: "I mixed oil and water together, whipped it and put it in the fridge and it looked like a cream... I was shining like a Belisha beacon for months."

From BBC

To get past a Belisha Beacon one must drive at a crawl permitting instant stops should a pedestrian wish to cross.

From Time Magazine Archive

Suddenly in the dead of night last week motorists in open sport cars began dashing about London on a Belisha Beacon hunt.

From Time Magazine Archive

Spunky British motorists last week struck back at spectacular young Minister of Transport Leslie Hore-Belisha, sponsor of the hated "Belisha Beacon."

From Time Magazine Archive

Incidentally, in 1934 it was Hore-Belisha who took over the Ministry of Transport from Stanley and in a few weeks was making world headlines by dotting London streets with brilliant orange "Belisha Beacon" traffic globes set atop zebra-striped poles.

From Time Magazine Archive