The idiom “in the dock” means being examined or tried, originating from the traditional English courtroom layout where the defendant sits in an enclosed area opposite the judge. It has broadened to include metaphorical situations similar to being a defendant. The phrase is technically a metaphor, not an idiom, but may be considered an idiom to those unfamiliar with the courtroom definition of “dock.”
The phrase “in the dock” is an idiom that means that someone or something is being examined or tried. It’s a British expression, more commonly used in the UK than in the US. The origin of the phrase is rooted in the traditional English courtroom layout.
In the United States, the defendant and his or her counsel sit at a table facing the judge and to one side of the plaintiff or prosecutor. This is part of the American tradition, intended to show the two sides as symbolically equal before the eyes of the law and to allow the defendant to see the witnesses against him. In Great Britain, however, the defendant sits in an enclosed area on the opposite side of the judge from the witness box. This enclosed area, which symbolically holds the defendant in custody during the trial, is known as the dock, perhaps deriving from the obsolete Flemish word docke meaning “cage”. The defendant in an English criminal trial is therefore physically and literally in the dock.
From this literal basis, the expression “in the dock” has broadened its usage to include situations metaphorically similar to being a defendant in a criminal trial. A government-controlled company for suspected business abuse, a husband trying to convince his wife to be faithful, or a new drug under consideration for approval by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) could be described metaphorically like being at the dock.
The phrase “in the dock” is also an excellent example of the confusing difference between idiom and metaphor. An idiom is generally defined as an utterance in which the meaning as a whole cannot be derived from the meanings of its component words, as in “I agree”, which means “I agree”. A metaphor is a comparison in which one object is said to be another very different object to suggest a similarity, such as “That lawyer is a real shark.” Technically, the phrase “in the dock” is more of a metaphor than an idiom, suggesting that someone’s situation is equivalent to that of a defendant on trial. To American English, who are probably unfamiliar with the courtroom definition of the word “dock,” the sentence is indeed an idiom in which the meaning seems unrelated to the meanings of its component words.
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