In English, idioms are used for expressing oneself, and there are umpteen idioms in use. Friends, do you know that the one word used in the maximum number of idioms is BLUE.
Here are some BLUE IDIOMS and their meaning:
Emotion and Mood
1 Sing the blues– Complain softly.
2 Monday blues– Workweek sickness.
3 Cry the blues– Excessive complaining.
4 Blue funk– Deep gloom.
5 Be blue with cold– Extremely cold.
6 Blue ruin– Total collapse
7 Feeling off blue– Slightly unwell
8 Blue Day– Depressing day.
9 Look blue– Appear sad.
10 Having the blues– Feeling down.
Less Common/Regional
1 Talk till blue– Talk endlessly.
2 Blue heaven– Joyful place.
3 Blue on blue– Friendly fire.
4 Blue badge– Disability permit.
5 Blue moon beer– Rare toast.
6 Blue-eyed soul– White soul.
7 Blue light special– Temporary deal.
8 Big Blue– IBM nickname.
9 Black and blue– Badly injured.
Social Status/Identity
1 Blue-chip stock– Top investment.
2 Blue-ribbon panel– Expert group.
3 Blue-stocking– Scholarly woman.
4 Blue wall of silence– Police secrecy.
5 Blue-collar crime– Working-class crime.
6 Blue bloodline– Noble ancestry.
7 Blue badge– Disability status.
8 Blue suit– Business person.
9 Blue elite– Influential class.
Common ‘Blue’ Idioms
1 Feel blue– feeling sad.
2 Out of the blue– Unexpected event.
3 Once in a blue moon-Rarely happens.
4 Blue blood– Noble origin.
5 Blue collar worker- Manual labourer
6 Blue dilemma– Difficult choice.
7 Blue in the face– Exhausted effort.
8 True blue– Loyal friend.
9 Into the blue– Unknown place
10 Blue-eyed boy– Favoured person.
Other figurative uses
1 Blue language-offensive words.
2 Talk a blue streak– Talk nonstop.
3 Blue movie– Adult/Porn movie.
4 Blue pencil– Censor text.
5 Into the wide blue yonder– Quest.
6 Blue Ribbon– top quality.
7 Blue law– Sunday restrictions.
8 Blue murder– Loud protest.
9 Go off into the wild blue yonder– Odyssey.
10 Blue-sky thinking– Imaginative ideas.
Rare/Unexpected Events
1 Happen once in blue moon– very rare.
2 Appear out of blue– Suddenly appear.
3 A bolt from the blue– Sudden shock.
4 Disappear into the blue– Vanish completely.
5 Shot in the blue– Wild guess.
6 Blue flash– Instant surprise.
7 Blue twist– Unexpected turn.
8 Drop from blue– Sudden arrival.
9 Blue jolt– Shocking news.
10 Blue snap– Abrupt change.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
20th May 2025