bawdry
Americannoun
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Archaic. lewdness; obscenity; bawdiness.
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Obsolete.
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the business of a prostitute.
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illicit intercourse; fornication.
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noun
Etymology
Origin of bawdry
First recorded in 1350–1400, bawdry is from the Middle English word bawdery. See bawd, -ery
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Its bawdry is innocent, its humor earthy, its love songs are unselfconsciously sentimental.
From Time Magazine Archive
Beaten into the mixture of bawdry and cynicism are a couple of bitter speeches of social protest, written in a heavy Teutonic style that even Blitzstein's tart translation could not leaven.
From Time Magazine Archive
The show evolves in play-within-a-play fashion from an opening square dance, and the book, lyrics, music and choreography mesh delightfully to create the mood of innocent bawdry and rustic high jinks.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Britain, Monty Python's Flying Circus tossed music-hall bawdry into a Dada format, and at home National Lampoon updated sick humor with a stinging Wasp edge.
From Time Magazine Archive
Thus, Brooks lumps 1601 with Mark Twain's "bawdry," and interprets it simply as another indication of frustration.
From 1601 Conversation as it was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors by Twain, Mark
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
