Hard-shell Baptists

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Baptists in Georgia (U.S.A.) who stuck to their principles and were impervious to any mellowing influence.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Hard-shell Baptists” mean?

Baptists in Georgia (U.S.A.) who stuck to their principles and were impervious to any mellowing influence.

Is “Hard-shell Baptists” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.