bluenose

noun

blue·​nose ˈblü-ˌnōz How to pronounce bluenose (audio)
: a person who advocates a rigorous moral code
bluenosed adjective

Examples of bluenose in a Sentence

the editorial lambasts those bluenoses who feel they have the moral authority to dictate how other people should conduct themselves in private
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Past practice and legal tradition relegated the act, which Congress passed at the behest of Anthony Comstock, one of the outstanding bluenoses of American history, to the scrap heap long ago. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024 Key to these plans is the Comstock Act, the 19th-century anti-vice law named for the crusading bluenose Anthony Comstock, who persecuted Margaret Sanger, arrested thousands, and boasted of driving 15 of his targets to suicide. Michelle Goldberg, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024 Hers is a tale of pink paint, bluenoses and brown coverup. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The National Endowment for the Arts, created as part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society in 1965, is a perennial target of partisan bluenoses accusing it of all varieties of offenses against public morals and sensitivities, though efforts to abolish it have consistently failed. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023 The Comstock Act was the brainchild of Anthony Comstock, one of the outstanding bluenoses of American history. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2023 But unlike some of his fellow combatants, Mr. Leo was too funny a writer to come off as a complete bluenose. New York Times, 11 May 2022 Bluenoses were bound to be pushed out of joint, so to speak, by a festival that was more Burning Man than County Fair. Logan Jenkins, sandiegouniontribune.com, 2 June 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bluenose was in 1785

Dictionary Entries Near bluenose

Cite this Entry

“Bluenose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bluenose. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!