bar out

obsolete To lock a teacher out of a school or classroom, as by barring the door shut. This was once a Christmas tradition in the 17th century, with students often demanding gifts in return for letting the teacher or schoolmaster back inside. The schoolmaster had become so used to being barred out on Christmas morning that he began preparing a basket of small gifts and treats for his students in anticipation of their antics. Two of the boys in our grammar school were eager to revive the old tradition of barring out, but no one else was foolish enough to go along with it.