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- 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
- What does going blue mean? - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
This is in reference to a 'blue movie', a euphemistic term for a pornographic film It has since been toned down somewhat and phrases like a bit of blue can be used to say that something is 'adult' in nature Often this includes dealing with sexual material but doesn't necessarily mean visually pornographic; a comedian who tells jokes with a sexual theme could be called 'a bit blue' going a
- Why does one run around like a blue-arsed fly?
Run around is a common expression meaning to be busy, frantic, or otherwise getting the runaround But to emphasize how much one is running around, we turn to metaphor The fly in question is apparently a blue bottle fly, which buzzes around rather frantically, like someone who is running around busily doing errands
- 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?
- Why are Australian redheads often called bluey?
The Virgin Blue name was the result of an open competition; it was a play on the predominantly red livery and the Australian slang tradition of calling a red-headed male 'Blue' or 'Bluey' This is confirmed on other sites such as this one How did blue come to represent red in Australia?
- What is the origin of Color me confused? - English Language Usage . . .
I drowned in the search results of articles using "Color me confused" phrase What is its meaning and origin?
- errors - Etymology of *spreadsheet* an anachronistic use - English . . .
40 Near the middle of chapter 14 of Murder Under A Blue Moon (2019, Abigail Keam) a character (Dexter) says, "It is an up-to-date spreadsheet of all your assets and liabilities " The story is set in April-May 1933 However, etymonline shows 1965 for the word's origin Can anyone provide evidence for when the word spreadsheet was first in use?
- Why do we order our adjectives in certain ways: big, blue house . . .
I'm wondering why certain adjective-adjective-noun combinations often follow a consistent order Examples: Standard Non-standard The big, blue house The blue, big house A mean, spiteful widow A spi
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