Cab rank
Encyclopedia
A cab rank or taxi rank is a primarily British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

 term for a queueing area where taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

s queue to await passengers. In United States English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....

 they are known as "taxi stands".

The phrase also has three other uses:
  • In Cockney rhyming slang
    Cockney rhyming slang
    Rhyming slang is a form of phrase construction in the English language and is especially prevalent in dialectal British English from the East End of London; hence the alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang...

    , the phrase means "bank".

  • During World War II
    World War II
    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

    , the Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

     operated a system for calling in fighter-bombers from a flying reserve known as a cab rank to attack ground targets as they arose; see close air support
    Close air support
    In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...

    .

  • In English law
    English law
    English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...

     the expression "cab rank rule
    Cab rank rule
    In English law the expression cab rank rule refers to the obligation of a barrister to accept any work in a field in which he professes himself competent to practise, at a court at which he normally appears and at his usual rates...

    " refers to the obligation of a barrister
    Lawyer
    A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

     to accept any work in a field in which he professes himself competent to practise, at a court at which he normally appears and at his usual rates. The expression 'cab rank rule' derives from the obligation of a London taxi driver to take any customer to their destination, however near or far, provided it is within the taxi service area as defined by the Public Carriage Office. This obligation prevents drivers from selecting merely customers who wish to go on the longer (and therefore more lucrative) journeys.
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