blue murder
1
8.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
gritar como loco
- And I've screamed fucking blue murder from from then on.
- scream blue murder
Examples
-
Yes, Cardinal Dolan will holler blue murder, but remember that JFK wouldn't have been president without convincing Americans that he wasn't going to let the Vatican call the shots on issues.
Blog text (9) -
They scream blue murder when they're being chopped down.
-
And then start screaming blue murder...
Fiction book (1994) -
The Republicans would scream blue murder if that happened.
Blog text (25) -
Who's that yelling blue murder?
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The crowd began to scream blue murder when they realized the concert was canceled.
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When he was unfairly treated at work, he started to scream blue murder to anyone who would listen.
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She was screaming blue murder after discovering that her favorite store was closing.
Synonyms
85
3.8
A loud public complaint or protest about something
47
3.9
A loud, confused noise and activity by a group of people
4
7.7
A loud public complaint by many people asking for action
1
9.9
A loud angry speech that attacks a person or idea
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
blue + murder
The meaning 'a very loud and angry protest or outcry' cannot be derived from the literal senses of 'blue' (a color or, in some uses, 'off-colour') and 'murder' (killing). In 'scream blue murder' the components do not combine transparently—the phrase is idiomatic and 'murder' does not refer to killing nor does 'blue' signal loudness—so a B1 learner who knows the words would not predict the idiomatic sense. This construction is language-specific and unpredictable from its parts, making it opaque to learners.
Etymology
Blue murder may come from a strong image: blue once meant very strong and murder was used to show something extreme, so imagine someone screaming so loud and angry it sounds like a call for 'murder'. That's why the phrase now means a very loud, angry protest or outcry.