common scold

American  

noun

1. (in early common law) a habitually rude and brawling woman whose conduct was subject to punishment as a public nuisance.

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Etymology

Origin of common scold

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

Catherine Cairns was arrested as a common scold, clapped in jail to mend her talk.

From Time Magazine Archive

But, as always, Khrushchev on tour turned out to be part frolicking peasant, part common scold.

From Time Magazine Archive

He envisions himself as a kind of public conscience to the profession, and succeeds at least in being its common scold.

From Time Magazine Archive

"He is not to be a common scold," he wrote in an opinion reprinted recently in the Atlantic.

From Time Magazine Archive

"You're getting to be nothing better than a common scold, Ern," returned Roger with a laugh.

From The Forbidden Trail by Morrow, Honoré