First recorded in 1895–1900; after A. Comstock ( def. ) + -ery
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the early 20th century, this idea of Comstockery becomes really popular.
From Scientific American • Apr. 28, 2023
His name may be forgotten, but the age of Comstockery is not over.
From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2019
After the bad days of Comstockery, the quality of his poetry was improving with the quality of his encounters:
From Salon • Jan. 11, 2014
On his overheated typewriter he minted words and phrases that became part of the national currency: "booboisie," "bozart," "Comstockery," "Bible Belt."
From Time Magazine Archive
And let it not be forgotten that an indictment of Comstockery is an indictment of ourselves, for the prurient, hypocritical, degrading thing can exist not one instant after we have declared that it shall perish.
From Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 1906 by Goldman, Emma
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.
