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

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

What transformed old faithful into a common scold was a series of federal safety regulations.

From Time Magazine Archive

Casting was geared to turn a prostitute into an angel, to repolish a yaking common scold, or curve hard lips into "the kindly weak smiles of a deserving claimant."

From Time Magazine Archive

He was made to order for the position of common scold in a country sewing-circle.

From Punchinello, Volume 2, No. 33, November 12, 1870 by Various