"blue laws"

[Carolyn S Lieberg]

This entry cites Peters again, though not as a forger and living
substantially earlier than the previously mentioned fellow.

The term "blue laws" seems to have been invented by Reverend Samuel
Peters, a pro-British American clergyman whose "General History of
Connecticut," published in 1781, set out to paint the colonists as
religious fanatics. Although popular legend maintains that the term
"blue laws" arose because the laws themselves were printed on blue
paper, Peters himself explained that by "blue" he meant "bloody,"
i.e., enforced by whipping, maiming and death.

from WordDetective comment



On Mar 21, 2006, at 6:49 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "blue laws"
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
>
> If "blue laws" derives from "blue" (= Puritanical), why does "blue"
> have this meaning?  Are we sure that "blue" (= Puritanical) existed
> prior to the coining of "blue laws"?  Or could could "blue" (=
> Puritanical) derive from the "blue" of "blue laws"?
>
> Gerald Cohen
> P.S. I don't have my dictionaries handy. Maybe the answer is clear
> there.
>
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