Dissolute and Debauched Persons

[deelaundry]

All kinds of new vocabularly lately. First Hugh Laurie introduced me to anodyne, and then there was this:

A person in my city was arrested recently and the paper reported the person is "also facing charges of bawdy house."

I'd never heard of "bawdy house" before, so I looked it up.

BAWDY-HOUSE, crim. law. A house of ill-fame, (q. v.) kept for the resort and unlawful commerce of lewd people of both sexes.
2. Such a house is a common nuisance, as it endangers the public peace by drawing together dissolute and debauched persons; and tends to corrupt both sexes by an open profession of lewdness. 1 Russ. on Cr.; 299: Bac. Ab. Nuisances, A; Hawk. B. 1, c. 74, Sec. 1-5.
3. The keeper of such a house may be indicted for the nuisance; and a married woman, because such houses are generally kept by the female sex, may be indicted with her husband for keeping such a house. 1 Salk. 383; vide Dane's Ab. Index, h. t. One who assists in establishing a bawdyhouse is guilty of a misdemeanor. 2 B. Monroe, 417.

A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.

New title for my LJ?

Comments

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

Hehee! That would make a great title for your LJ. :)

Hugh Laurie always claims his solid gold education was wasted on him, but obviously he uses it well. &heart

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

You are awesome, and Bawdy House would be a great journal title.

[taiga13.livejournal.com]

(puzzled) You're so well read but you've never heard the word "bawdy house" before? Maybe it's a British vs American thing. The word I had to look up was "bromide", because I didn't see what a compound with bromine in it had to do with anything (sheepish)
These are the latest new words I've learned, from a feminist scientist website of all places:
demisexual (only feels sexual attraction to someone they feels a strong emotional connection with; halfway between sexual and asexual)
non-binary (not identifying as male or female)
gynesexual (sexually attracted to adult females)
androsexual (sexually attracted to adult males)
skoliosexual (sexually attracted to non-binary people)

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

I've heard of "bawdy house" but I actually didn't know it was still in use. I mean, to me it's the kind of term you'd read where characters were saying to each other things like, "Have you had the acquaintance of Mistress Kit? She keeps a fine house in the Whitechapel district -- in truth, a bawdy house for the young bucks and blades."

*g*

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I didn't know of bawdy house, but anodyne is already in Wilde's Ballad Of Reading Gaol. The problem is that now I'm dreaming of getting Hugh Laurie to read that.

Bawdy House would be a perfect title for a journal or, better, a very porny and very long AU fic.

[leakey-lover.livejournal.com]

"Bawdy house," while uncommon, must have been in common parlance when I was a child, for I wrote a series of stories set next door to one. Oh, dear. Granted, it was eons ago.

I can think of few pursuits more entertaining and less practical though than rediscovering archaic usage, or even old law, for that matter. Highly recommended.

Aside: And recently rec'd his Soul of Man Under Socialism, in which OW predicted its failure precisely one century early. There was a very nice piece in a recent NYR on his underappreciated intellectual accomplishments; I think you might find it online.

Cheers.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

Where did you rec Soul of Man under Socialism, and how could you interpret it as showing its failures? Now I have to read it again asap.
OT I can see socialism from my window right now and it seems to be thriving ;).

[leakey-lover.livejournal.com]

I have to reread it again, too. It was cited a lot back around the fall of the soviet union, I think.

I wish it were thriving here. A vast majority of people here are hurting.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

Socialism means such different things on either side of the iron courtain, it's even weird to me it's the same word. A lot of countries (mine included) still hurt from right wing dictatorships. Funnily enough, in Italy socialism went from "fight against fascism" to "corrupt even for Italian standards" in one sad generation.

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

YES (new title).