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Sent to Coventry

Posted by ESC on October 07, 2003

In Reply to: Sent to Coventry posted by Bob on October 07, 2003

: : I believe the origin of "Sent to Coventry" is other than that included here.

: : During WW2, the British government learned through either a cracked code that the Germans had planned a large air-raid on Coventry. This would cost dearly in lives, but if the Germans discovered that the British had deciphered the code, many, many more lives would be lost, and warning Coventry about the air-raid would tip off any German agents about the broken code. Coventry was therefore not told about the airraid.
: : Hence being sent to Covernty.

There are several theories discussed in archived threads -- search under "Coventry."

: True story ... but aren't there documented uses of the phrase that predate WWII?

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