blue devils en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Originally apparitions supposed to be seen by sufferers of delirium tremens.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, plural, plural-only, slang) Low spirits; depression.
"[…] the disease is either extinct, or exists in such a mild form that a short course of aperient medicine carries it off. It is sometimes called the Blue-devils now or the Mulleygrubs. Queer names, ain't they?"
1890, William Morris, News from Nowhere, in the journal The Commonweal. (First published in book form 1890.)...ye who believe in the pernicious efforts of "Blue Devils," subscribe at once to that Paragon of Newspapers, "The Yankee Blade."
1847, editorial staff, “The Yankee Blade”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 66:
- (figuratively, plural, plural-only, slang) Depressants, especially the barbiturate amobarbital.
Synonyms
mulligrubs (depression)
Translations (4)
ru хандра́ (low spirits) · fr déprime (low spirits) · fr idée noire (low spirits) · pl dołek (low spirits)