blue

1. adjective Sad or depressed. I'm sorry, I'm just feeling a bit blue after getting back my exam results. Most people love the holidays, but they always make me blue. My kids are always blue on the last night of summer vacation.

2. adjective Obscene, vulgar, or risqué; dirty. My grandmother is the sweetest old lady you'll ever meet, but she sure loves telling blue jokes! I remember the video store down the street had a section of blue movies for adults that they would keep behind a black curtain. I know that a lot of people enjoy blue humor, but I find it to be crass.

3. adjective Of meat, especially steak, completely uncooked in the center; extra rare. A: "And how would you like your filet mignon, sir?" B: "Blue, please." He ordered his meat "blue," and I nearly threw up right there. I have no idea how people eat steak that's rare, or, worse yet, blue—I'm a well-done sort of guy.

4. adjective Of or referring to a political party whose representative color is blue. Analysts are predicting a blue wave in the congressional elections this year. It looks as though the seats of Westminster will be mostly blue after the Tories' dominance in the recent general election. My grandfather was a staunch conservative, so I can't imagine that he ever voted blue in any election.

5. noun, slang A police officer. Primarily heard in US. I never thought Jack would be a blue when he grew up, after all the trouble he used to get into as a kid. A: "What's that blue doing here?" B: "He's always walking around here—this is his beat." Ugh! Some blue gave me a ticket for parking here overnight.

6. noun, slang A 10 mg tablet of diazepam (more commonly known as Valium), which is blue in color. Usually used plurally. Primarily heard in US. I had to take a blue to calm me down before the big presentation. Apparently, he died of an overdose of blues. A: "If you're that nervous, why don't you take some of my blues?" B: "Nah, those things put me to sleep."

*blues

1. sadness; a mood of depression. (*Typically: get ~; have ~.) You'll have to excuse Bill. He's getting the blues thinking about Jane. I get the blues every time I hear that song.

2. a traditional style of popular music characterized by lyrics expressing hardship, lost love, etc. Buddy had been singing the blues ever since the Depression.

blue

1. mod. depressed; melancholy. That music always makes me blue.

2. mod. obscene; vulgar; dirty. Those blue jokes don’t go over very well around here.

3. n. the sky; the heavens. The idea came to me right out of the blue.

4. mod. alcohol intoxicated. You might say I’m blue. Others might note that I am stoned.

5. n. an amphetamine tablet or capsule, especially a blue one. (Drugs.) How are blues different from reds and yellows?

6. n. a police officer; the police. The blues will be here in a minute.

7. n. a 10-mg tablet of Valium. (Drugs.) In treatment they kept giving me blues to calm me down. Now I can’t live without them.

See:

References in classic literature

It appears, then, that the Eatanswill people, like the people of many other small towns, considered themselves of the utmost and most mighty importance, and that every man in Eatanswill, conscious of the weight that attached to his example, felt himself bound to unite, heart and soul, with one of the two great parties that divided the town--the Blues and the Buffs.

View in context

"Yes, " assented the girl, "and there are blue rooms in each of those houses--when all the rooms are blue then the whole outside of the house will be blue as is the Blue Place of Seven Skulls.

"And the skulls with blue upon them?" inquired Bradley.

"They were murdered--some of them; those with only a small amount of blue were murderers--known murderers.

As they talked in low tones they had moved from the room of the death shaft into an all blue room adjoining, where they sat down together in a corner with their backs against a wall and drew a pile of hides over themselves.

Bradley could guess all this by the increased volume of sound and the dismal greetings; but the sudden silence that almost immediately ensued he could not fathom, for he could not know that from beneath one of the hides that covered him protruded one of his heavy army shoes, or that some eighteen large Wieroos with robes either solid red or slashed with red or blue were standing gazing at it.

View in context

She said that everything had colour in her thought; the months of the year ran through all the tints of the spectrum, the days of the week were arrayed as Solomon in his glory, morning was golden, noon orange, evening crystal blue, and night violet.

When we finished our lunch the barrens were already wrapping themselves in a dim, blue dusk and falling upon rest in dell and dingle.

View in context

Marah Huber -- Blue -- Shopping in Style -- Beginning and STEAM Clothing 1.

More Montgomery County 4-H Fair results revealed

2 Referring to Diagram II, join navy E, dark blue E, dark blue F, medium blue G, medium blue H, light blue I and light blue C in order shown to make Block 0.

CUBICLES

New York City: A blue human is a cold, dead or sad human.

Scientists give a chrysanthemum the blues

A matte blue plastic case is presented with a matte blue silicone strap, blue loop and blue plastic buckle.

Time to Swatch

Blue Cross's Team Blue employees are providing all of the volunteer labor for the project, and Habitat will lead volunteers through the 7-8 week build process with support from experienced construction professionals.

Habitat, Blue Cross to build a 2nd home