Crossword clues for ribaldry
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ribaldry \Rib"ald*ry\, n. [OE. ribaldrie, ribaudrie, OF. ribalderie, ribauderie.] The talk of a ribald; low, vulgar language; indecency; obscenity; lewdness; -- now chiefly applied to indecent language, but formerly, as by Chaucer, also to indecent acts or conduct.
The ribaldry of his conversation moved ?stonishment
even in that age.
--Macaulay.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
early 14c., from Old French ribauderie "debauchery, licentiousness," from ribalt (see ribald).
Wiktionary
n. Joking or humorous language done in a vulgar or lewd fashion.
WordNet
Wikipedia
Ribaldry, or blue comedy, is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to gross indecency. It is also referred to as "bawdiness", "gaminess" or "bawdry".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at the foibles and weaknesses that manifest themselves in human sexuality, rather than to present sexual stimulation either excitingly or artistically. Also, ribaldry may use sex as a metaphor to illustrate some non-sexual concern, in which case ribaldry may verge on the territory of satire.
Like any humour, ribaldry may be read as conventional or subversive. Ribaldry typically depends on a shared background of sexual conventions and values, and its comedy generally depends on seeing those conventions broken.
The ritual taboo-breaking that is a usual counterpart of ribaldry underlies its controversial nature and explains why ribaldry is sometimes a subject of censorship. Ribaldry, whose usual aim is not "merely" to be sexually stimulating, often does address larger concerns than mere sexual appetite. However, being presented in the form of comedy, these larger concerns may be overlooked by censors.
Usage examples of "ribaldry".
If any came expecting the turgid eloquence or the ribaldry of the frontier, they must have been startled at the earnest and sincere purity of his utterances.
Joey ribaldry or toby pathos, the horse laugh or the weary smile, joey cunning or toby helplessness, pure pantomime or a pista full of props, joey knockabout or toby melancholy.
The poker games in Berthing Compartment 256 were its inhabitants' second-most serious occupation, a point which many of their fellow crewmen, who speculated ribaldry on just who did what with whom, would have found difficult to believe.
Addison gives a specimen of this ribaldry, in Number 383 of The Spectator, when Sir Roger de Coverly and he are going to Spring-garden.
A man might take a look, when a new-comer would push him on, and take his place, to be in turn pushed on--and there were laughter and ribaldry and revilements, all for the Nazarene.
When the performance was over and the men went out snickering and exchanging ribaldries, as usual, the girl remained.
But aside from such rumors and ribaldries, little was thought of the matter.
And he laughed at the ribaldries of his fools, at unquenchable ancient bawdries that had won the laughter of other kings in the sea-lost continents of yore.
One did not sing liensennes of courtly, unrequited love or ribaldries of enthusiastically answered passion in the forests of Arbonne when news came of a village destroyed and women burned alive by the king of Gorhaut.
Herein only are the inferior sort somewhat to be blamed, that, being thus assembled, their talk is now and then such as savoureth of scurrility and ribaldry, a thing naturally incident to carters and clowns, who think themselves not to be merry and welcome if their foolish veins in this behalf be never so little restrained.