
etymology - Origin of the of the phrase "feeling blue" - English ...
Oct 19, 2020 · If you are sad and describe yourself as "feeling blue," you are using a phrase coined from a custom among many old deepwater sailing ships. If the ship lost the captain or …
etymology - What is the origin of the term ‘blue movie’? - English ...
Apr 10, 2023 · In other words, what is the temporal and definitional origin of this meaning of the adjective ‘blue’ and the compound noun ‘blue movie’? Note: I have suggested two tags: …
Why does "blue blazes" specify the color blue, and what is the …
Apr 5, 2020 · The Wikipedia article on sulfur confirms the flame color: Sulfur burns with a blue flame with formation of sulfur dioxide, which has a suffocating and irritating odor. But is that …
Origin of "blue" for rude? - English Language & Usage Stack …
The phrase “working blue” came into usage at the time. If a representative of the Keith Orpheum circuit objected to the content of an act, a request to cut the material was sent backstage in a …
expressions - Why does swearing 'turn the air blue'? - English …
Oct 27, 2013 · Why do we say that the air is blue when someone has been swearing a lot?
expressions - Why does one scream blue murder? - English …
Jan 15, 2011 · To scream blue murder is to shout loudly and make a huge fuss, sometimes with the implication that the fuss is excessive. But does anyone know why murder should be blue?
Where did the phrase blue sky thinking come from?
Jun 3, 2018 · The true origin is what you’d expect in a business setting: In the early 20th century, “blue sky” was frequently applied to describe fraud — notably, financiers who would inflate and …
Why do we talk a blue streak? - English Language & Usage Stack …
May 27, 2011 · We might say that someone who is exceptionally chatty can "talk a blue streak." What is the origin and meaning of this phrase? Is it generally insulting, or a nice way of saying …
Why do we say that an obscene joke is "off-color"?
Jun 6, 2013 · Here is the definition of off color in Chapman & Kipfer, Dictionary of American Slang, Third Edition (1995): off color adj phr by 1875 Somewhat salacious; risqué; =BLUE: a …
Why is a very rare steak called 'blue'? - English Language & Usage ...
Oct 20, 2016 · The "black and blue" definition still doesn't quite define it - it's a cooking style that relies on the term "blue" to already exist ("black on the outside, blue on the inside"). This, plus …