# Why "blue"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 20, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050 "2004-07-20T19:07:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/1 "2004-07-20T19:07:06Z")

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Cursed a blue streak  
Blue movies  
etc.

Why “blue” to indicate offensive or risqué?

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**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/2 "2004-07-20T19:57:17Z")

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[Etymologists are not sure why.](http://www.takeourword.com/Issue022.html)

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**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/3 "2004-07-20T20:02:14Z")

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. . . but the most plausible theory is that is came from the term “bluestockings”, which was slang for England’s Puritans in the 17th century.

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/4 "2004-07-20T23:15:19Z")

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[World Wide Words](http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-blu2.htm) , Michael Quinion’s site is very professional. You can also read his take on it. But, **Walloon** is correct. Still undetermined.

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/5 "2004-07-21T00:54:34Z")

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Back in high school, my Spanish teacher told us that the Spanish equivalent is “es verde” (“is green”).

If this is true, why the color shift?

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/6 "2004-07-21T03:46:57Z")

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The Doppler effect?

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/7 "2004-07-21T23:32:07Z")

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> [@Exapno Mapcase](#):
>
> Back in high school, my Spanish teacher told us that the Spanish equivalent is “es verde” (“is green”).
> 
> If this is true, why the color shift?

Douglas Wilson, one of the “go-to” guys over at the American Dialect Society, found that green in Spanish to mean "obscene(or similar) is cited in the 1852 Royal Spanish dictionary.

Just adding more fuel to the fire.

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**Author:** ![PussyCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@PussyCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PussyCow)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/8 "2004-07-21T23:39:21Z")

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May I add on: what about sad?

Feeling blue.  
Got the blues.

Is it related?

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**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/9 "2004-07-21T23:42:40Z")

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Blue balls?

aaand…he runs off…

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue/256050/10 "2004-07-21T23:58:07Z")

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Want to know about other uses of “blue?”  
[http://alt-usage-english.org/concordance\_interface.shtml](http://alt-usage-english.org/concordance_interface.shtml)

This is great site to bookmark. I think it’s listed in a sticky on board resources, but not everyone reads stickys. :mad