bluenose

[ bloo-nohz ]

noun

1. a puritanical person; prude.
2. (initial capital letter) Also Blue Nose. Canadian. an inhabitant of the Maritime Provinces, especially of Nova Scotia.
3. Nautical Slang.
   1. a sailing vessel of Nova Scotia.
   2. a seaman on such a vessel.

bluenose

/ ˈbluːˌnəʊz /

noun

1. slang.
   a puritanical or prudish person
2. informal.
   often capital a native or inhabitant of Nova Scotia

Word History and Origins

Origin of bluenose¹

First recorded in 1780–85 bluenose ( def 2, 3 ); 1925–30, an Americanism for bluenose ( def 1 ); blue + nose; bluenose ( def 1 ) blue law, etc.; bluenose ( def 2, 3 ) originally a derisive name for someone living in Nova Scotia before the Loyalists arrived; further etymology uncertain

Example Sentences

Hers is a tale of pink paint, bluenoses and brown coverup.

From Los Angeles Times

The law is the Comstock Act, which Congress passed during the post-Civil War period of puritan reaction at the behest of one of the outstanding bluenoses of American history.

From Los Angeles Times

The Comstock Act was the brainchild of Anthony Comstock, one of the outstanding bluenoses of American history.

From Los Angeles Times

Purge school boards of the sort of bluenose martinet who thinks you should teach the Holocaust — the Holocaust! — without painful words and images.

From Seattle Times

So, with a household of six to feed, he jumped at the chance to pick up donated snapper and bluenose heads at a Maori community hall in Auckland, New Zealand.

From New York Times