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
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
The campus blue law also ruled that "mixed gatherings of men and women shall be restricted to public rooms on main floors."
From Time Magazine Archive
A favorite assertion was that I was enforcing a "blue" law, an obsolete law that had never before been enforced.
From Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography by Roosevelt, Theodore
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.
