a modern-day Robin Hood

A reference to the folkloric character of Robin Hood, who, according to legend, was a remarkable archer and was said to rob from the rich in order to give to the poor.

1. Someone who makes a point of redistributing wealth to those in lower financial positions, whether by legal or illegal means. The CEO of the non-profit tech company is styling herself as a modern-day Robin Hood, reinvesting the revenue earned through its hugely successful financial apps directly into local programs for disadvantaged communities around the country. The film tells the story of a notorious gangster who becomes a kind of modern-day Robin Hood, targeting banks and billionaires in order to give their money to the poor. Who wouldn't vote for a modern-day Robin Hood? Give money to the people who really need it, rather than turning millionaires into billionaires!

2. Someone who is particularly skilled in archery. Our archery camp is always trying to encourage kids to become the next modern-day Robin Hoods. The modern-day Robin Hood managed to hit the apple off the volunteer's head with an arrow, then split that arrow down the center with a second one. Did you just hit the bulls-eye? Wow, you're a modern-day Robin Hood all right!

around Robin Hood's barn

On a long, indirect route. A: "What took you guys so long to get here?" B: "Well, rather than just going through town, our esteemed driver took us all around Robin Hood's barn instead!" It seems your mother can't read a map—her directions took us all around Robin Hood's barn! A: "Come on, we don't have time to go all around Robin Hood's barn!" B: "Well, we could take the highway, but we'd just be sitting in traffic."

go around Robin Hood's barn

To take a long, indirect route. A: "What took you guys so long to get here?" B: "Well, rather than just going through town, our esteemed driver went around Robin Hood's barn instead!" We went all around Robin Hood's barn following your mother directions. It seems she can't read a map! A: "Come on, we don't have time to go all around Robin Hood's barn!" B: "Well, we could take the highway, but we'd just be sitting in traffic."

round robin

1. In sports, a tournament in which all participants must face everyone else in successive turns. Hyphenated if used as a modifier before a noun. Because we had an odd number of teams, we decided to make the tournament a round robin. There will be four round-robin competitions, with the winner of each one going into a final bracket on Sunday.

2. A document signed in a circle around the edges to mask the order of the signatures (so that a leader of the message cannot be identified). Employees opposing the move have decided to send a round robin to management outlining their protest.

all around Robin Hood's barn

going somewhere by an indirect route; going way out of the way [to get somewhere]; by a long and circuitous route. We had to go all around Robin Hood's barn to get to the little town.

round robin

1. A petition or other document signed by several persons in sequence, so that no one can tell who was the first to sign it. For example, We decided to send a round robin to management to protest the new rules about work hours . This term originally referred to a grievance presented by seamen to their captain, called round because of the circular sequence of names, but the source of robin has been lost. [Early 1700s]

2. In sports, a tournament in which each player or team plays against all of the others in turn. For example, The club always holds a tennis round robin on the Fourth of July. [Late 1800s]

round Robin Hood's barn

by a circuitous route.

Robin Hood is the semi-legendary English medieval outlaw reputed to have robbed the rich and helped the poor. In this expression, Robin Hood's barn represents an out-of-the-way place of a kind that might be used by an outlaw or fugitive such as Robin Hood. Recorded from the mid 19th century, the phrase seems to have originated in the dialect speech of the English Midlands, the area in which Robin Hood is said to have operated.

a ˌround ˈrobin

a letter of protest, etc. that has been signed by many people in such a way that no single person can be blamed or punished for sending it: Did you sign that round robin that was sent to the manager this week?This comes from the navy. Originally it was a letter of protest in which the signatures were written in a circle so that nobody could see who had signed it first.