Making speeches before an election to try to persuade people to vote for you.
The word husting comes from the Old Norse word ‘hústhing’, meaning the gathering of a household to be addressed by its leader. ‘Hús’ refers to the house, the word ‘thing’ relates to the assembly.
At one time, husting was the name of the City of London’s highest court; it later referred to a platform at the Guildhall used by the city’s aldermen and the Lord Mayor.
The place where parliamentary candidates were nominated was called the hustings. In the early part of the 18th century, this took the form of a temporary platform.
In modern times, the word hustings refers to the public places where candidates stand to state their policies to the assembled electorate in the hope of securing their votes in the election. This is also known as being ‘on the stump’.
hustings
on/at the hustings
making speeches before an election to try to persuade people to vote for you
