I Got the Blues

I Got the Blues I Got the Blues I Got the Blues By Maeve Maddox Blue is not only a favorite color for a lot of people, it is a word that occurs in many English expressions, some of them oddly contradictory. Obscene language is said to be blue, yet blue laws are those that forbid activities considered irreligious to take place on Sunday. A common blue law in the United States forbids the sale of liquor on Sundays. The sky is blue but the gray coats of some dogs are also called blue. A blue mood is a sad mood. To have the blues is to be sad, and the Blues refers to a type of music about unhappy love. People who talk so much that others can hardly get a word in edgewise are said to talk a blue streak. (One can also cuss a blue streak.) Bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is a species of grass that is not native to the United States, but is closely associated with Kentucky, which is known as the Bluegrass State. Bluegrass music is a sub-genre of country music which relies mostly on stringed instruments such as acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo. A bluebird is what the name implies, a bird with blue feathers. Some have red breast feathers. The Eastern Bluebird is New Yorks state bird. In literature and art, the bluebird is a symbol of happiness. Blue chip stocks are Wall Street investments considered to be safe because they are issued by the most successful, most profitable companies. When the expression was coined, casino poker chips with the highest value were the blue ones. A blue blood is a person of aristocratic lineage. The expression is from Spanish sangre azul. It was coined to distinguish families of Castile that did not have Moorish or Jewish ancestors from those who did. The underlying idea is that blood veins are blue and the lighter the skin, the bluer the veins look. The term Bluestocking was coined in the 18th century. At first it was applied in a derogatory sense to both men and women who attended Elizabeth Montagus fashionable London literary salon. It was the men who wore the blue stockings, but the term quickly became a common tag for a woman who likes to discuss literature. To say that something happens in a blue moon is to say that it rarely happens. Then theres Ol Blue Eyes, a common epithet for singer Frank Sinatra. How many more blue expressions can you think of? More about Blue as color of dogs coat Kentucky bluegrass Bluegrass music Eastern bluebird blue moon Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"The Difference Between "will" and "shall"Plurals of Proper Names