a
phrase describing literature censored by the ultraconservative
Watch and
Ward Society of
Boston, Massachusetts, USA. During the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this society, by official
agreement, acted as a
censor getting literature banned if it did not
meet strict
moral and
religious standards. Such censorship was tolerated within
Boston, however, throughout the rest of the United
States the practice was viewed with either
humor or annoyance. Writers, editors and publishers went to
court to defend books and
magazines against the
ban while others simply
defied the rules. By the 1920s the
phrase "Banned in
Boston" had become a national joke. It was eventually adjusted to match the more popular
standards prevalent in the United
States.