Origin of the term 'daylight robbery'

(Published on 25 April 2006 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)

I need no introduction. Every family has one. Every office has one. Even a circle of friends has one. I am Miss Know-All. And I say it with great élan, as our breed of people are, a lot more smart, savvy, intelligent, intellectual, bright, sharp, able and gifted than you all, the rest that comprise the crowd.

Our reputation precedes us. Because we – well if you insist I spell it out – just know it all. It’s always a pleasure to share the wealth of knowledge that we have. And before you call it harping, sweeties – it’s called ‘enlightening the ignorant!’ From irregular bowel movements to quivering jowl movements, we have an answer for everything.

You may have often heard the term ‘daylight robbery’. It’s a term relevant to a lot of things these days. Have you ever wondered what the origins of this phrase must be? No silly. I wasn’t expecting an answer to that question. Just sit back and absorb. It’s interesting and I have to take you back to the 1500’s to Scotland.

It’s rumoured that the city council was close to bankruptcy and needed a way to generate funds. The only way to evaluate the wealth of a family was by taxing them as per the number of windows their house had. As it was the rich who had large street facing houses with numerous windows and the poor who had small windowless homes. Things haven’t changed much since then, have they?

This gave birth to the ‘Window Tax’. This tax was straightforward to assess and easy to collect as the subject of taxation was easy to see and difficult to hide. People of course came up with ways to avoid the tax especially after 1825 when houses with less than eight windows were exempt from paying the tax. Some people blocked up their windows and were as a result robbed off their daylight. Apparently that is how the common phrase – ‘daylight robbery’ came to be – and has it’s origins with the Window Tax.

Don’t rob your brain off daylight sweethearts – open the windows of your mind and let knowledge flow in. I’ll be around to inform and educate. Just soak in the sunshine.

Miss Know-All
wow@dailymirror.wnl.lk