whipping post

noun

1. a post to which persons are tied to undergo whipping as a legal penalty.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whipping post¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

The whipping post, the auction-block, the backdrop of Jefferson’s designs for campus buildings: The violent scene described on the gallery wall is one that played out in an undeniably architectural setting.

From New York Times

“You’ll go to the whipping post, and a fine will be added to your debt—the sum of the two tickets I just lost. By my calculation, that’s about six months’ worth of your wages.”

From Literature

The tonnage of blood and flesh peeled from whipping posts, Black town burnings, and "Indian Wars" are but flecks of dust floating against a harmonious, pioneering white settlement destined to civilise the world.

From Salon

There was the whipping post in the middle of the plantation where enslaved people were tied up and beaten.

From Washington Post

The last whipping post left in the state of Delaware was removed from the grounds of a courthouse Wednesday after protesters decried the history of racial injustice the post symbolized.

From Fox News