blue law
noun
any puritanical law that forbids certain practices, especially drinking or working on Sunday, dancing, etc.
Origin of blue law
1An Americanism dating back to 1775–85
- Compare sumptuary law.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use blue law in a sentence
These Blue Laws, as they were called, aimed at establishing an almost theocratic form of government.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian SharmanThese agents should be licensed by the State as the “Blue Laws” require the licensing of stock salesmen.
The Modern Ku Klux Klan | Henry Peck FryThe old blue laws were stringently enforced, and the penalty for infringement was usually a sharp one.
Greenwich Village | Anna Alice ChapinThere is at the present time a strong and perhaps growing tendency towards enacting Sunday Blue Laws.
The Real Jesus of the Four Gospels | J. B. AtwaterI spent the first years of my life under the influence of what history has called the "Blue Laws" of Connecticut.
Leaves from My Journal | Wilford Woodruff
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