Common Scold
From MgmtWiki
Definition
To scold is to chide, to rail at.[1]
Context
This behavior is still a crime in Washington DC in 2023. Being a troublesome or quarrelsome person — defined as a “common scold” — technically remains illegal, though the law is likely unenforceable. Even a D.C. Court in 1829 ruled “the offense is not well defined in any adjudged case. ... The punishment for the crime — “ducking” — does not appear to have a modern parallel. Those convicted were strapped to chairs and dunked into water. The defendant in the 1829 D.C. case was convicted, but the court ruled even back then that “ducking” had become obsolete in England. The court instead fined the woman and ordered her to be 'on good behavior for one year.'”[2]
Back to the Future
References
- ↑ W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Oxford (1882)
- ↑ Peter Hermann, 5 archaic D.C. laws still technically on the books after crime bill is nixed The Washington Post (2023-03-20) https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/10/archaic-dc-laws-criminal-code/
