Blue laws

[Fred Shapiro]

On Wed, 11 Dec 2002, Michael Quinion wrote:

> The following appears on a web site devoted to the rebuttal of
> hoaxes (www.museumofhoaxes.com/bluelaws.html): "The term 'Blue
> Laws' describes laws that regulate public morality. The phrase was
> first used in an anonymous pamphlet published in 1762 titled 'The
> Real Advantages Which Ministers and People May Enjoy, Especially in
> the Colonies, by Conforming to the Church of England'". This - if
> correct - predates the usual first citation in the Reverend Samuel
> Peters' work of 1782 entitled "A General History of Connecticut".

I looked at the book in question, and it does indeed antedate the OED's
1781 first use:

1762 Noah Welles _The Real Advantages Which Ministers and People May Enjoy
Especially in the Colonies, by Conforming to the Church of England_ 29  I
have heard that some of them [polite gentlemen] begin to be ashamed of
their blue laws at _New-Haven_.

In a quick skimming of the book, the above was the only usage of _blue
laws_ I saw.  Unfortunately, there is nothing shedding light on the
etymology, i.e., why are these laws "blue."

Fred Shapiro


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