Peterloo

The events of 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a large crowd that had gathered in St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, to demand the reform of parliamentary representation, killing fifteen and injuring hundreds more.

Proper noun

  1. The events of 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a large crowd that had gathered in St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, to demand the reform of parliamentary representation, killing fifteen and injuring hundreds more.

Origin

Blend of Peter + Waterloo, in an ironic comparison to the Battle of Waterloo, which had taken place four years earlier.