Meanings
plural bluenoses
- informalA prude.
- USslanggovernmentA person who has crossed the Arctic Circle.
That summer the Clipper detoured north on its way to Norway so that cadets could be initiated as bluenoses. She passed between the Shetland and Orkney islands on her way to cross the Arctic Circle at Greenwich.
2005, Stephen J. Curley, Aggies By The Sea: Texas A & M University At Galveston, page 213 - slangA variety of potato from Nova Scotia, Canada.
- slangA follower of Everton Football Club.
- slangA follower of Birmingham City Football Club.
- AustraliaUSA trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis)
- AustraliaNew ZealandUKUSAntarctic butterfish (Hyperoglyphe antarctica)
- Australiablue-throated wrasse (Notolabrus tetricus)
Synonyms & antonyms
nounUsed among Roman Catholics for a Protestant (specifically Puritan).
nounA native or inhabitant of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From blue + nose. * See sense 2: Coined in references to the color blue as the color of the Presbyterians or Blue law. * See sense 3: Possibly coined in reference to early Nova Scotian sailors whose noses were alleged to turn blue from the cold, or possibly coined in reference to the early settlers who would frequently eat blue potatoes and herring.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
bluenose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bluenose
“bluenose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bluenose. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bluenose,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bluenose.
Source: bluenose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.