Discussion Groups / English Usage / March 2006

It comes from an old form of punishment--or, to look at it from another
point of view, an old form of harassment or persecution (although to
call it "torture" seems an exaggeration to me):

From
http://www.fortklock.com/loyalistspersecution.htm

"Another form of torture inflicted on some of the Tories was to force
them to ride the rail. This involved placing the 'unhappy victim' upon
sharp rails with one leg on each side; each rail was carried upon the
shoulders of two tall men, with a man on each side to keep the poor
wretch straight and fixed in his seat."

--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

It comes from the old practice of carrying indesiracles out of town on a
fence rail.
It was commonly accompanied with a good tarring and feathering.

This single phrase combines two historical images:
1.  "Out of town," viz. the punishment of expulsion
from the community, traditional in Europe as well
as America.
2.  "riding on a rail," a variety of punishment
(torture) for wrongdoers, seating them astride
a piece of wood like a fence rail (with or without
tarring and feathering as well).  This may be a
distinctively American invention.