hustings
/ˈhʌstɪŋz/noun
(复同单)
1- a meeting at which candidates in an election address potential voters（发表竞选演说的）讲坛。
1.1
- the campaigning associated with an election竞选活动：
the Chancellor did not perform well at the hustings.
现任总理在竞选活动中表现不佳。
词源
late Old English husting 'deliberative assembly, council', from Old Norse hústhing'household assembly held by a leader', from hús 'house'+thing 'assembly, parliament'; hustings was applied in Middle English to the highest court of the City of London, presided over by the Recorder of London. Subsequently it denoted the platform in the Guildhall where the Lord Mayor and aldermen presided, and （early 18th cent.） a temporary platform on which parliamentary candidates were nominated; hence the sense 'electoral proceedings'.