See Also: BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF ME(finance)
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD(finance)
sky-blue(dictionary)
ice-blue(dictionary)
blue-sky(dictionary)
Blue Sky(money)
blue-eye(medicine)
blue law(dictionary)
sky-blue(dictionary)
blue(1)(dictionary)

blue(1) (iou)



blue adjective. [blu:] Also blew. ME.

Of the colour of the sky and the deep sea, between green and violet in the spectrum; of a hue resembling this. ME.
between the Devil and the deep blue sea: see DEVIL noun.
Shakespeare Anthony & Cleopatra My bluest veins to kiss. Scott Fitzgerald The blue smoke of brittle leaves. C. Mackenzie Eyes as blue as the kingfisher's wing. L. van der Post A great plain between blue hills. I. McEwan 'Can I borrow a blue pencil?' 'Blue for the sea or blue for the sky?'
b. Livid, leaden-coloured (esp. of the skin as a result of cold, fear, etc.). ME.
black and blue: see BLACK adjective. blue in the face livid with effort, excitement, etc. (used hyperbol.).
Milton Blue meagre hag. T. C. Wolfe His lips chattered and turned blue.
c. Of a flame or flash: without red glare. L16.
Defoe When the candles burn blue the Devil is in the room.
a. Taken as the colour of constancy. LME.
true blue faithful, unwavering, genuine (see also sense 5 above).
b. Taken as the colour of sorrow or anguish (see also sense 3). LME.
V. Nabokov A combination of blue sulks and rosy mirth, Lolita.
c. Taken as the colour of plagues and things hurtful. E16.
E. Young Riot, pride, perfidy, blue vapours breathe.
fig. Depressed, low-spirited; dismayed, downcast; (of circumstances) dismal, unpromising. M16.
R. Boldrewood It seemed a rather blue look-out. G. Stein She wondered..how she could go on living when she was so blue.
b. Intoxicated. slang (chiefly US). E19.
c. Music. Pertaining to or characteristic of the blues. E20.
Dressed in blue; wearing blue. L16.
thin blue line: see THIN adjective.
Belonging to a party etc. that has chosen blue for its colour; spec. (a) (Hist.) true-blue, of the Scottish Presbyterian or Whig party in the 17th cent.; (b) of the Conservative Party in the UK. M17.
G. B. Shaw The bluest of Tories.
Of a woman: learned, pedantic (cf. BLUESTOCKING). arch. derog. L18.
M. Edgeworth They are all so wise, and so learned, so blue.
Obscene, indecent; profane. colloq. M19.
P. G. Wodehouse A jocund little tale, slightly blue in spots. R. Lowell What blue movie is worth a seat at the keyhole.
Special collocations & comb.: blue asbestos crocidolite. blue baby a baby with congenital cyanosis. blueback (chiefly N. Amer.) a bird or fish, esp. a trout or a sockeye salmon, having a bluish back. blue bag a barrister's (orig. a solicitor's) brief-bag of blue material; (see also BLUE noun). blue beat (music) = SKA. blueberry any of certain N. American shrubs of the genus Vaccinium, of the heath family, allied to the bilberry but bearing their fruits in clusters; the sweet edible blue or blackish fruit of such a plant. blue-bill N. Amer. & dial. = SCAUP. bluebird (a) a small N. American bird of the genus Sialia, related to the thrushes, and having sky-blue upperparts; esp. the eastern bluebird, S. sialis; (b) fig. happiness. blue-black adjective & noun (of) a black colour with a tinge of blue. blue blood [translating Spanish sangre azul, claimed by certain families of Castile, as having no Moorish, Jewish, or other admixture] a sign of high birth. blue-blooded adjective aristocratic. blue-bonnet (a) a peasant or soldier wearing a broad round flat woollen cap, formerly in general use in Scotland; (b) any of various blue flowers and blue-headed birds; esp. (N. Amer.) either of two lupins, Lupinus subcarnosus and L. texensis, native to Texas. blue book a book bound in blue, spec. (a) a parliamentary or Privy-Council report, issued in a blue cover; (b) US a printed book giving personal details of government officials. bluebottle (a) a cornflower or occas. another blue-flowered plant; (b) a nickname for a beadle (arch.) or a police officer; (c) a large dark-blue fly of the genus Calliphora; (d) Austral., NZ, & S. Afr., a Portuguese man-of-war. bluebunch wheat-grass: see WHEAT noun. blue-bush any of various shrubs with bluish foliage or blue flowers, esp. (Austral.) a bluish-leaved shrub of the genus Bassia. bluecap (a) a Scotsman; (b) dial. a salmon in its first year (so called because of a blue spot on its head); a cornflower; a blue tit. blue-cheeked adjective having blue cheeks; blue-cheeked bee-eater, an African and Asian bee-eater, Merops superciliosus, which has mainly green plumage with a black eyestripe bordered by pale blue. blue cheese cheese marked with veins of blue mould (Danish blue cheese: see DANISH adjective). blue chip (orig. US) a high-value poker counter; transf. a stock exchange investment considered to be fairly reliable, though not entirely without risk. blue-chip adjective of the highest quality; (of an investment) fairly reliable. blue-coat a person who wears a blue coat, e.g. a police officer, a sailor, a scholar at a charity school (esp. Christ's Hospital), (formerly) an almsman, a beadle. blue COHOSH. blue-collar adjective designating a manual or industrial worker, as opp. to a 'white-collar' (office) worker. blue COPPERAS. blue corn N. Amer. a variety of maize with bluish grains. blue crab a large edible crab, Callinectes sapidus, of the N. American Atlantic coast. blue crane: see CRANE noun1 1b. blue dahlia something rare or unheard of. blue devil (a) a baleful demon; (b) in pl., depression of spirits; delirium tremens (cf. BLUES 1). blue-domer colloq. one who does not go to church, preferring to worship beneath the 'blue dome' of heaven. blue duck a grey-blue duck, Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos, of mountain streams in New Zealand; also called mountain duck, whio. blue ensign: see ENSIGN noun. blue eye (a) an eye of which the iris is blue; (b) = black eye (b) s.v. BLACK adjective; (c) a blueness round the eye from weeping etc. blue-eyed adjective having a blue eye or blue eyes; blue-eyed boy (colloq.) a favourite, a pet; blue-eyed grass, any of several plants of the genus Sisyrinchium, bearing blue flowers; blue-eyed Mary, a blue-flowered ornamental plant, Omphalodes verna, of the borage family. bluefin (tuna) N. Amer. the common tuna, Thunnus thynnus. bluefish any of various fishes of a blue colour; esp. (a) (chiefly N. Amer.) Pomatomus saltatrix (family Pomatomidae), a large edible blue-backed percoid marine fish; (b) (Austral. & NZ) Girella cyanea (family Kyphosidae), a bright blue edible percoid marine fish. blue flag (a) a European award for beaches based on cleanliness and safety; (b) Motor Racing a blue flag used to indicate to a driver that there is another driver trying to lap him. blue fly a bluebottle. blue funk slang a state of extreme nervousness. bluegill (sunfish) a small fish, Lepomis macrochirus, of lakes and ponds in central and south-eastern US. blue gown Hist. in Scotland, (the dress of) a king's bedesman or licensed beggar. bluegrass (a) any of various grasses with bluish flowers; spec. Poa pratensis, characteristic of Kentucky and Virginia, or other grasses of the same genus; (b) the State of Kentucky; (c) a type of folk music associated with Kentucky and Virginia. blue-green (alga) a primitive prokaryotic alga containing blue and green photosynthetic pigments; also called cyanobacterium. blue-grey a breed of cattle, a cross between Aberdeen Angus and shorthorn. blue groper: see GROPER noun2 2. blue ground dark greyish-blue brecciated kimberlite in which diamonds may be found. bluegum any of several Australian eucalypts with bluish bark or leaves. blue hare = MOUNTAIN hare. blue hawk any of various bluish-grey birds of prey; esp. the male hen-harrier. blue heeler Austral. & NZ a cattle-dog with a dark speckled body. blue helmet a member of a United Nations peacekeeping force. bluejacket a sailor, esp. as opp. to a marine. blue jay (a) a crested jay, Cyanocitta cristata, largely blue with white underparts, native to eastern N. America; (b) = ROLLER noun2. Blue John (a) a blue or purple variety of fluorite found in Derbyshire, England; (b) = after-wort s.v. AFTER-. blue-joint US a grass of the genus Calamagrostis or a related genus, with bluish stems. blue laws US severe puritanical laws, orig. those alleged to have been in force among early colonists of New England. blue line: spec. marking off an area of play in a game, as in Ice Hockey either of the two lines midway between the centre of the rink and each goal. blue ling either of two small lings, Molva macrophthalma and M. dypterygia. blue MARGUERITE. Bluemantle one of four pursuivants of the English College of Arms. blue metal bluish argillaceous shale, used in road-making. blue monkey the samango monkey, Cercopithecus mitis. blue moon colloq. a rarely recurring period (esp. in once in a blue moon). blue mould a fungus in food, esp. in certain cheeses when mature. Blue Mountain (coffee) a type of Jamaican coffee. blue-mouth a spiny deep-water scorpaenid fish of the N. Atlantic, Helicolenus dactylopterus, with a reddish body and a blue mouth; also called red bream. blue murder slang an extravagant outcry, a loud or alarming noise. blue-nose (chiefly N. Amer.) (a) (Blue) a person or thing from Nova Scotia; (b) a priggish or puritanical person. blue-nosed adjective (chiefly N. Amer. colloq.) priggish, puritanical; contemptible. blue note Music a minor interval where a major would be expected; an off-pitch note. blue PEAFOWL. blue pencil a pencil with a blue lead, used in marking corrections, etc. blue-pencil verb trans. score through or obliterate with a blue pencil, make cuts in, censor. Blue Peter a blue flag with a white square in the centre, hoisted by a ship as a signal of immediate sailing. blue pill (chiefly Hist.) a mercurial antibilious pill. blue PINCUSHION. blue-plate adjective (N. Amer.) designating a restaurant meal in which the main course is served as a single menu item. blue POINTER. blueprint noun & verb (a) noun a photographic print composed of white lines on a blue ground or vice versa, used for making copies of plans and designs; fig. a plan, scheme; (b) verb trans. plan, project. blue riband, blue ribbon (a) a ribbon of blue silk, worn as a badge of honour; esp. that of the Order of the Garter; (b) the greatest distinction, the first place or prize; attrib. of first quality, carefully chosen; (c) a small strip of blue ribbon worn as a sign of teetotalism. blue rinse (an elderly woman with) a bluish tint for grey or white hair. blue-rinsed adjective having a blue rinse. blue roan: see ROAN adjective & noun2. blue rock: see ROCK noun1. blue rod an official of the order of St Michael and St George. blue ruin slang gin, esp. of poor quality. blue runner: see RUNNER 5c. blue-screen adjective designating or employing a special-effects technique in which scenes filmed against a blue background are superimposed on other scenes. blue shark a large shark, Prionace glauca, having a dark-blue back. blue shift displacement of spectral lines towards shorter wavelengths or the blue end of the spectrum (opp. REDSHIFT noun). blue-sky adjective (a) N. Amer., designating dealing in worthless securities or legislation to prevent their sale; (b) hypothetical; not yet practicable or profitable. blue sowthistle: see sowthistle s.v. SOW noun1. blue stone (a) copper sulphate; (b) a bluish-grey stone used for building, esp. US a sandstone from near the Hudson River, Austral. & NZ a basalt; (c) any of the dolerite stones forming the inner parts of Stonehenge, believed to be from the Preseli Hills, S. Wales. blue streak colloq. (chiefly N. Amer.) a fast-moving thing or person; a constant stream of words. blue tangle: see TANGLE noun2 3. bluethroat a Eurasian bird, Luscinia svecica, related to the robin, having a blue throat with a chestnut or white spot. blue tit a common European tit, Parus caeruleus, having blue upperparts. bluetongue (a) (orig. S. Afr.) an insect-borne viral disease of sheep (transmissible with less serious effects to cattle and goats), characterized by fever, lameness, and a blue, swollen mouth and tongue; also occas. a comparable disease of horses; (b) Austral. a lizard of the genus Tiliqua. blue TULP. blue vinny (cheese), blue vinney (cheese) a blue-mould skimmed-milk cheese; also called Dorset cheese. blue VITRIOL. blue water the open sea. blue whale a baleen whale, Balaenoptera musculus, the largest of all animals. blue whiting a small blue-backed oceanic whiting, Micromesistius poutassou, common in the eastern Atlantic. blue-wing the blue-winged teal, Anas discors, of N. America.
? The usual spelling until 18 was blew.
bluely adverb (a) with a blue colour or tinge; (b) badly (only in
come off bluely): M17.
blueness noun L15.