blue-rinse brigade
- noun
- Offensive
:
grupo de mujeres mayores (despectivo)
- The local blue-rinse brigade meets every Thursday for tea.
Examples
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The blue-rinse brigade arrived at the café early for their weekly meeting.
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The local blue-rinse brigade is famous for organizing charity bake sales.
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She never thought she'd join the blue-rinse brigade, but she loves their company now.
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Have you seen the blue-rinse brigade at the market?
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The blue-rinse brigade meets every Saturday at the community center to chat and share stories.
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Members of the blue-rinse brigade are often seen gossiping at the local park during their afternoon walks.
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Each month, the blue-rinse brigade hosts a tea party to celebrate their friendship and community involvement.
Surface Forms
Morphology
blue-rinse + brigade
The word 'brigade' clearly signals a group, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents could infer this refers to a group associated with 'blue-rinse'. However, 'blue-rinse' (hair dyed bluish‑grey) and the social stereotype of elderly women who socialise/gossip are culturally specific and not directly derivable from knowing 'blue' and 'rinse', so the expression is only partially predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The saying blue-rinse brigade comes from the 'blue rinse' hair dye older women used to make grey hair look blue-grey, and brigade just means a group. People often saw these women meeting and chatting, so today the phrase means 'a group of older women who are often traditional and like to meet and chat'.
