blue law
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of blue law
An Americanism dating back to 1775–85
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.
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — It is still illegal to buy alcohol at a liquor store on Sunday in Indiana, a red state holding fast to an old blue law.
From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2015
This 68-year-old blue law, a relic of Anthony Comstock's crusades, is widely disregarded, seldom enforced.
From Time Magazine Archive
An 1822 blue law still forbids Mississippians to attend bearbaiting, cockfights, bullfights and any other routine amusements of a Sabbath.
From Time Magazine Archive
During the week Lord Renfrew received telegrams and letters from blue law exponents urging him to give up his Sunday golf.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Shall we have to give up our vacation at Hollyhill on account of this?" asked Katherine Crane almost as dejectedly as if she were being sentenced to prison for violating a Connecticut blue law.
From Campfire Girls in the Allegheny Mountains or, A Christmas Success against Odds by Francis, Stella M.
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.
