[net.nlang] "Shopping days"; really "Blue Laws"

kay@warwick.UUCP (Kay Dekker) (12/06/85)

In article <291@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
>'Tis the season of the year when you constantly see and hear the phrase
>"<n> shopping days 'til Christmas". I used to think nothing of it, but
>now I find this usage quite annoying. Why? Because this area recently
>voted down long-standing "Blue Laws" that prevented merchants from
>having stores open on Sunday, and now there is no such thing as a
>"shopping day" as distinct from just plain "day".

What is a "Blue Law"?  I can't find any references to these things on a
cursory investigation; could some kind soul enlighten me?  Are they named
for a legislator?  the colour of the paper?  blue as in "blue joke"?

> Are there Sunday-closing laws in European countries?

Yes, certainly in England there are; the law restricts what kinds of goods
may be bought on Sundays (some perishable foodstuffs etc). There are moves
afoot to deregulate Sunday trading before Parliament now, so the situation
may change soon.  The Conservatives (the party currently in government)
favour deregulation:  those who oppose it are 1) some Christians who oppose
what they see as the secularisation of their Sabbath and 2) some trade
unionists who see it as exploitative.

						Kay.

-- 
"Be careful: the system is complex and chaotic, though it
 has many attractive features..."
				_The Pot-holes of the Yorkshire Moors_
				... mcvax!ukc!warwick!flame!kay

barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin) (12/10/85)

From my "New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language":

blue laws, n.pl.  Severe or puritanic laws, especially those forbidding
any entertainment or business on the Sabbath: from an alleged code said
to have been adopted in the colonies of New England.
-- 
    Barry Margolin
    ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics
    UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar

wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (12/10/85)

In article <2389@flame.warwick.UUCP> kay@flame.UUCP (Kay Dekker) writes:
>What is a "Blue Law"?  I can't find any references to these things on a
>cursory investigation; could some kind soul enlighten me?  Are they named
>for a legislator?  the colour of the paper?  blue as in "blue joke"?

I wondered, when I posted the original, if the use of the phrase "Blue
Law" would cause a subsidiary discussion to arise. Well, so it did!

Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Second College
Edition, The World Publishing Co., 1972, says:
"blue law  1. any of the strict puritanical laws prevalent in colonial New
England  2. a law prohibiting dancing, shows, sports, business, etc.,
on Sunday"

I believe that the "blue" in this phrase comes from the same source as
in "blue-nose" (a Puritan or prig), but it seems different from the
usage in "bluestocking" (a pedantic woman) [which also seems later].

Those with better references can trace the etymology in more detail.

Regards, Will