E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Destructives (The),
as a political term, arose in 1832.
1
“The Times newspaper, hitherto the most effective advocate of the [Reform] bill, has been obliged to designate those whom it formerly glorified as Radicals, by the more appropriate and emphatic title of the Destructives.”—Quarterly Review (Dec., 1832, p. 545.)
