broad arrow

a mark in the shape of a broad arrowhead, placed upon British government property.

Archery. an arrow having an expanded head.

Heraldry. pheon.

Origin of broad arrow

1350–1400; Middle English brod arwe

You wouldn't look well at all in a striped suit—or I believe it's the broad-arrow pattern they supply in the prisons here.

The White Blackbird |Hudson Douglas
A line of men in broad-arrow stamped suits, all natives, guarded by two armed constables, was filing in from the veldt.

A Veldt Official |Bertram Mitford
Firstly, there is the stigma that attaches to every man who has worn the broad-arrow.

A Plea for the Criminal |James Leslie Allan Kayll
The mark of the “broad-arrow” is generally incised with the bench-mark so that the horizontal bar passes through its apex.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 5 |Various

In prison she had to wear the ugly convict-dress with the broad-arrow stamped on all her clothes.

The Rebel of the School |Mrs. L. T. Meade

broad arrow

a mark shaped like a broad arrowhead designating British government property and formerly used on prison clothing

an arrow with a broad head