FALSELY SHOUTING FIRE IN A CROWDED THEATRE


Meaning of FALSELY SHOUTING FIRE IN A CROWDED THEATRE in English

the example used in 1919 by the US Supreme Court judge Oliver Wendell Holmes to show that in certain circumstances free speech should be limited. Although he greatly supported free speech, Holmes said that ‘the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic’.

Oxford guide to British and American culture English vocabulary.      Руководство по британской и американской культуре, Оксфордский английский словарь.