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- Where did the phrase blue sky thinking come from?
The true origin is what you’d expect in a business setting: In the early 20th century, “blue sky” was frequently applied to describe fraud — notably, financiers who would inflate and over-capitalize securities based on nothing more tangible than “blue sky and hot air ”
- etymology - Origin of the of the phrase feeling blue - English . . .
10 If you are sad and describe yourself as "feeling blue," you are using a phrase coined from a custom among many old deepwater sailing ships If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port
- Why do we talk a blue streak? - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
We might say that someone who is exceptionally chatty can "talk a blue streak " What is the origin and meaning of this phrase? Is it generally insulting, or a nice way of saying someone is a chat
- etymology - What is the origin of the term ‘blue movie’? - English . . .
What is the origin of the term ‘blue movie’ to mean porn film? Were there for example ‘blue photos’ before film? The usage of ‘blue’ for nasty, lewd, deviant, seems to go back at least as far back as 1900, which suggests it could have been (but not necessarily) used to describe pornographic photos But when did it start?
- Origin of blue for rude? - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
The phrase “working blue” came into usage at the time If a representative of the Keith Orpheum circuit objected to the content of an act, a request to cut the material was sent backstage in a blue envelope So-called blue material was considered problematic enough that vaudeville listings in local papers noted which shows were “Clean
- expressions - Why does one scream blue murder? - English Language . . .
To scream blue murder is to shout loudly and make a huge fuss, sometimes with the implication that the fuss is excessive But does anyone know why murder should be blue?
- Why does blue blazes specify the color blue, and what is the origin . . .
The Wikipedia article on sulfur confirms the flame color: Sulfur burns with a blue flame with formation of sulfur dioxide, which has a suffocating and irritating odor But is that the original rationale for "blue blazes"? Also, when and where did the earliest recorded instances of "blue blazes" and "blue blazes of hell" occur?
- expressions - Why does swearing turn the air blue? - English Language . . .
The association of "blue air" with cursing has been around since at least the 1880s Farmer Henley, Slang and Its Analogues (1890) offers this brief entry: To MAKE THE AIR BLUE, phr [ase], (popular) To curse; to swear; to use profane language Farmer Henley then sends the reader off to look at its entry for sense 2 of the adjective blue, which is as follows: Indecent; 'smutty'; obscene
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