blue devils
Low spirits; depression.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He has the blue devils today.”
“Listening to sad music always brings on the blue devils.”
“The long, dark winter often gives her the blue devils, so she tries to stay active.”
“After the excitement of the wedding ended and all the guests went home, he felt a sudden case of the blue devils in the empty house.”
“Despite his outward success, he frequently struggled with the blue devils, finding it difficult to maintain his composure during the quiet hours of the evening.”
Attested as a term for melancholy or low spirits by the late 18th century, the phrase originally denoted the terrifying apparitions supposed to be seen by those suffering from delirium tremens. The hallucinations were visualised as distinct demonic entities, their presence indicating a physical and mental collapse that was considered socially inconvenient and medically taxing. By the 19th century, the devilry had been abstracted into a general state of despondency, though the clinical origin remained rooted in the tremors of the severe alcoholic.
- 01
blue chamber
A forbidden room.
- 02
blue moon
A long time.
- 03
blue note
The flatted 5th scale degree in the blues scale.
- 04
blue ribbon
Highly superior in quality, style, substance, prestige, etc.
- 05
blue state
A state of the United States voting Democratic in a given election, or tending to vote Democratic in general.
- 06
blue wall of silence
Strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a police force with respect to information which might be contrary to their interests, especially information concerning questionable police actions.
- 07
bolt from the blue
A complete surprise; something totally unexpected.
- 08
clear blue water
An obvious, unambiguous divide between the policies of two parties.
Last updated August 10, 2026