Idioms for blue

    blue in the face, exhausted and speechless, as from excessive anger, physical strain, etc.: I reminded him about it till I was blue in the face.
    out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly: The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.

Origin of blue

1250–1300; Middle English blewe < Anglo-French blew, bl(i)u, bl(i)ef blue, livid, discolored, Old French blo, blau (French bleu) < Germanic *blǣwaz; compare Old English blǣwen, contraction of blǣhǣwen deep blue, perse (see blae, hue1), Old Frisian blāw, Middle Dutch blā(u), Old High German blāo (German blau), Old Norse blār

ANTONYMS FOR blue

14 happy.

OTHER WORDS FROM blue

blue·ly, adverb blue·ness, noun half-blue, adjective un·blued, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH blue

blew blue

British Dictionary definitions for blue in the face (1 of 2)

blue
/ (bluː) /

noun

adjective bluer or bluest

verb blues, blueing, bluing or blued

See also blues

Derived forms of blue

bluely, adverb blueness, noun

Word Origin for blue

C13: from Old French bleu, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse blār, Old High German blāo, Middle Dutch blā; related to Latin flāvus yellow

British Dictionary definitions for blue in the face (2 of 2)

Blue

Bluey

/ (bluː) /

noun

Australian informal a nickname for a person with red hair

Idioms and Phrases with blue in the face (1 of 2)

blue in the face

Exhausted from anger, strain, or other great effort. For example, You can argue until you're blue in the face, but I refuse to go. This expression alludes to the bluish skin color resulting from lack of oxygen, which presumably might result from talking until one was breathless. See also under talk one's arm off.

Idioms and Phrases with blue in the face (2 of 2)

blue