blue devils
1
8.9
- noun
- /blu ˈdɛvəlz/
- Archaic
:
tristeza
- On rainy days, many people find themselves fighting the blue devils that bring on feelings of sadness.
Examples
-
After losing his job, he was often haunted by the blue devils that made him feel lonely and depressed.
-
But I have the blue devils about him marrying her.
Fiction book (1994) -
I don't hold with superstitions, but I almost came to believe in the blue devils that Elizabeth felt when contemplating the union of Peggy and General Arnold.
Fiction book (1994) -
She tried to cheer herself up, but the blue devils lingered, making everything seem dull and grey.
Synonyms
4
4.4
A feeling of mild sadness that has no clear cause
1
3.5
A feeling of being a little sad or down
1
8.8
A feeling of deep sadness or worry that makes you feel low
1
9.9
A short period of feeling sad and down
A feeling of being sad and having little hope
A sudden feeling of deep sadness and low energy
Antonyms
How Sad
Surface Forms
Morphology
blue + devils
The adjective 'blue' already signals sadness, so a B1 learner who knows that sense will likely infer that 'blue devils' concerns low spirits. However, the plural noun 'devils' does not transparently contribute that meaning (it is idiomatic/historical rather than a predictable compositional element), so the full phrase is not completely derivable from its parts.
Etymology
Blue devils may come from an old picture of tiny devils coloured blue sitting on a person and making them feel 'sad'. The word 'blue' has long meant 'sad', and 'devils' meant bad spirits, so the phrase now means 'low spirits'.