rogue's gallery
Học thuậtThân thiện
A detective examines a rogue's gallery of wanted posters on the precinct wall.
Definition
Noun: 1. A collection of pictures of criminals: A set of photographs, typically maintained by law enforcement, showing the faces of known or suspected criminals for identification purposes. 2. A coterie of undesirable people: A group of individuals considered disreputable, untrustworthy, or generally objectionable.
Usage and Examples
Referring to a police collection of criminal photos:
- The detective scanned the rogue's gallery, hoping to identify the suspect from the security footage.
- Before databases, police stations kept physical rogue's galleries of known felons.
Referring to a group of disreputable people:
- The scandal revealed a rogue's gallery of corrupt officials within the department.
- He seems to have assembled a rogue's gallery of dubious characters as his business partners.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- The term often carries a figurative and mildly humorous or dramatic tone when used for a group of undesirable people, implying they are a collection of "characters" worthy of being in a criminal lineup.
- It can be used in political, corporate, or social contexts to criticize a group collectively.
Variants and Related Words
- Mug shot: (n) A photograph of a person's face taken after arrest. This is a component of a traditional rogue's gallery.
- Lineup: (n) A row of people, including a suspect, shown to a witness to identify a perpetrator. Related in concept to identification.
Synonyms
- For meaning 1 (collection of pictures): police file, mug shot collection.
- For meaning 2 (group of people): den of thieves, band of rogues, unsavory bunch, disreputable crowd.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- A who's who of...: This phrase can be used ironically in a similar way to the second meaning. (e.g., )
- Rogues' gallery: An alternative spelling using the plural possessive "rogues' " is also common and acceptable. The meaning is identical.
A detective examines a rogue's gallery of wanted posters on the precinct wall.
Noun
- a collection of pictures of criminals
- a coterie of undesirable people