Literary notes about BAWDY (AI summary)
In literature, "bawdy" is often employed to evoke a sense of lewdness, ribald humor, or impropriety, frequently associated with crude wit or sexual content. The term appears both as an adjective describing racy dialogue or behavior—as when a character is dubbed a "bawdy knave" or engages in "bawdy talk" ([1], [2], [3])—and as a modifier for places linked to immoral or licentious activities, such as brothels or disreputable establishments ([4], [5], [6]). At times, it underscores a kind of earthy, unrefined humor present in bawdy songs and jesting remarks ([7], [8]), while in other contexts it serves to critique or satirize societal norms by contrasting refined decorum with coarse conduct ([9], [10]).
- Nay truly, for thou slewest him unhappily and cowardly; therefore turn again, bawdy kitchen page, I know thee well, for Sir Kay na
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory - He was vehement against old Dr. Mounsey, of Chelsea College, as 'a fellow who swore and talked bawdy.'
— from Boswell's Life of Johnson by James Boswell - If bawdy talk offend you, we'll have very little of it.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Now, I am sure it is a bawdy-house; I'll swear it, were the marshal here to thank me: The naming this commander doth confirm it.
— from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson - ’Tis no less, I tell ye; for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
— from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - Either this place is an emblem of a bawdy house, or a bawdy house of it; for nothing is to be seen in any room but scurvy beds and bare walls.
— from Character Writings of the Seventeenth Century - 356: To be abroad chanting some bawdy song, And laugh, and measure thighs, then squeak, spring, itch, Do all the tricks of a salt lady bitch!
— from The Devil is an Ass by Ben Jonson - She held me tight for a minute without moving, then went off like a wild Bacchante , and uttered voluptuous bawdy expressions.
— from The Romance of Lust: A classic Victorian erotic novel by Anonymous - I hate him, Sti, for I feel myself besmirched by his stealthy hands and bawdy words.”
— from Marie Grubbe, a Lady of the Seventeenth Century by J. P. (Jens Peter) Jacobsen - I will answer for the Poets, that no one ever writ Bawdy for any other Reason but Dearth of Invention.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
