ChatterBank0 min ago
blue language / humor
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Blue laws were those set by Puritans in America in the 17th century, generally forbidding anything resembling enjoyment - particularly on the Sabbath - and seemingly published on blue paper. In addition, the censor of British plays - someone appointed by the Lord Chamberlain - had to vet theatrical and, later, film-scripts with a view to cutting out anything obscene. He would score through any offending words with a blue-coloured pencil. So, 'blue' in general took on the meaning of 'smutty'.
'Off-colour' has had the same suggestion of obscenity since the late 19th century. This probably came about because of the already-existing connection between the colour blue and the risqu�.
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