[WATCH sb.] The periodical cry of a watchman; fig. a motto, phrase or word that is constantly reiterated by a party or the advocate of a cause, to call attention to some principle deemed of supreme importance. Cf. WATCHWORD.
1882. Farrar, Early Chr., II. 87. Every day shows us how easy it is, first to turn any expression into a watchcry, then to empty it of all significance [etc.].
1893. Tablet, March, 320. Their watch-cry will be order, propriety and economy.
α. 1894. Stevenson, In South Seas, II. ii. (1908), 153. From shore the cheerful watch-cry of cocks rang out at intervals.
