three-line whip
A directive to MPs from party leaders to attend a parliamentary meeting and vote in a…A directive to MPs from party leaders to attend a parliamentary meeting and vote in a particular way, despite what the MP might believe or what his or her constituents might like.
Meaning
2 senses(UK)A directive to MPs from party leaders to attend a parliamentary meeting and vote in a particular way, despite what the MP might believe or what his or her constituents might like.
(broadly, humorous)An imperative order.
I have to go shopping with the wife, I'm afraid. She's given me a three-line whip.
Origin
From the triple underlining of very important votes on “the whip” — a document detailing uFrom the triple underlining of very important votes on “the whip” — a document detailing upcoming business distributed weekly to British MPs by party managers.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: three-line whips| Singular | three-line whip |
|---|---|
| Plural | three-line whips |
regular
Word family
4 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.