Pre-code

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Prior to the introduction of the Hays Code, a set of moral guidelines for the US film industry widely applied between 1930 and 1968. not-comparable

    "The Sign of the Cross, in certain senses the ultimate pre-Code movie, can still have a queasying ^([sic]) effect on viewers with its arena brutality, and its effect on 1933 audiences was that much stronger"

Example

More examples

"The Sign of the Cross, in certain senses the ultimate pre-Code movie, can still have a queasying ^([sic]) effect on viewers with its arena brutality, and its effect on 1933 audiences was that much stronger"

Etymology

From pre- + code.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.