Comstockery

[kuhm-stok-uh-ree, kom-]

noun

overzealous moral censorship of the fine arts and literature, often mistaking outspokenly honest works for salacious ones.

Origin of Comstockery

1900–05; after A. Comstock; see -ery

Related formsCom·stock·er, nounCom·stock·i·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for comstockery

Historical Examples of comstockery

There it is in a few words—a complete and perfect treatise on Comstockery!
Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 1906
Various
It is no exaggeration to say that Comstockery is the arch enemy of society.
Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 1906
Various
Is Comstockery to be our best expression of the most vital matter of existence?
Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 1906
Various
His chapters on the psychology of war hysteria and of comstockery are acute and constructive.
Psychoanalysis
Andr Tridon
Comstockery, as we know it, is apparently an organized effort to regulate the morals of the people.
Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 1906
Various

British Dictionary definitions for comstockery

comstockery

noun

US immoderate censorship on grounds of immorality

Word Origin for comstockery

C20: coined by G. B. Shaw (1905) after Anthony Comstock (1844–1915), US moral crusader, who founded the Society for the Suppression of Vice

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for comstockery

Comstockery

1905, from Anthony Comstock (1844-1915), founder of New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (1873) and self-appointed crusader against immorality, + -ery. Coined by George Bernard Shaw after Comstock objected to "Mrs. Warren's Profession." "Comstockery is the world's standing joke at the expense of the United States" [Shaw, "New York Times," Sept. 26, 1905]. The Comstock lode, silver vein in Nevada, was discovered 1859 and first worked by U.S. prospector H.T.P. Comstock (1820-1870).