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.
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
It's movie analysis with a serrated edge; film criticism as stand-up bawdry; intellectual improvisation that soars into the highest form of word jazz.
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
Its bawdry is innocent, its humor earthy, its love songs are unselfconsciously sentimental.
From Time Magazine Archive
He with the red hair is Guy Tabarie; they are sworn brothers in bawdry and larceny.
From If I Were King by McCarthy, Justin
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.
