bluenose

American  

[bloo-nohz] / ˈbluˌnoʊz /

noun

1. a puritanical person; prude.

2. (initial capital letter) Also Blue Nose an inhabitant of the Maritime Provinces, especially of Nova Scotia.

3. Nautical Slang.

   1. a sailing vessel of Nova Scotia.

   2. a seaman on such a vessel.

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bluenose British  

/ ˈbluːˌnəʊz /

noun

1. slang a puritanical or prudish person

2. informal (often capital) a native or inhabitant of Nova Scotia

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Etymology

Origin of bluenose

First recorded in 1780–85 bluenose ( def. 2, 3 ); 1925–30, an Americanism for bluenose ( def. 1 ); blue + nose; bluenose ( def. 1 ) cf. blue law, etc.; bluenose ( def. 2, 3 ) originally a derisive name for someone living in Nova Scotia before the Loyalists arrived; further etymology uncertain

Example Sentences

Thomas Doherty insists that the Lord-Quigley document—which became the Hays Code—was not “a grunted jeremiad from bluenose fussbudgets, but a polished treatise representing long and deep thought in aesthetics, education, communication theory, and moral philosophy.”

From The New Yorker • May 2, 2016

I’m not a bluenose, but this penchant for flesh is moronic and unhealthy.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2012

But the British press�ignoring the fact that British movie men had invited him over�attacked him as a bluenose.

From Time Magazine Archive

Outside of medicine, Episcopalian Dr. Kelly was such a bluenose that some thought him against "practically everything that is any fun."

From Time Magazine Archive

Dey speak de Gaelic dere—dem bluenose Scotchmen, an' Ah larn it when Ah wass small boy.

From The Brassbounder A Tale of the Sea by Bone, David W.