Three years ago this month I had a close encounter with ball lightning (yes, it most certainly does exist), and some people say I haven’t been quite right ever since. My dad cursed a blue streak after he found out I'd put a dent in his car. NYT reporter booted from Trump rally after mask tweet Please take a look at magpie (bird) pictures. Please note that comments are moderated, and will sometimes take a few days to appear. I hadn't seen that question/answer yet. . And, at the other end of the spectrum, we have the slightly antiquated (but equally mysterious) adjective “blue” meaning “obscene,” which dates to the 1820s (and thus predates “blue movies” by a century). The "black and blue" definition still doesn't quite define it - it's a cooking style that relies on the term "blue" to already exist ("black on the outside, blue on the inside"). B-zap-zap-zap! It was noted that many of the nobility, Russians in particular, had very pale, very thin skin, which made these veins appear bluer than those of commoners. talk a blue streak. Meanwhile, as the stock exchange tumbles and staid “blue chip” stocks take a beating, it’s appropriate to note that “blue chip” meaning “top rank, best” comes from the highest denomination chips in the very un-staid game of poker, which are traditionally blue. To use profane language with great rapidity and intensity. OK, I was able to track down the sources of my connection between vaudeville and "blue material." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, curse (someone or oneself) for (something), curse (someone or something) under (one's) breath, curses, like chickens, come home to roost. In vaudeville there were the family or "legit" houses (as opposed to less reputable venues that might have featured strip tease, etc.). My dad cursed a blue streak after he found out I'd put a dent in his car. And if you quit, you got a black mark against your name in the head office and you didn't work on the Keith Circuit anymore. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. When she dropped the brick on her toe, she cussed a blue streak. Blue, as an adjective, means among other things being risque or indecent. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cuss+a+blue+streak. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. Gossip-related words are related to magpies. The “blue” in “curse a blue streak” probably also invokes “blue” in the sense of “obscene.” A similar phrase, “blue blazes” (“And the two Jacobs swore like blue blazes agin him,”1858), was originally a reference to the fires of Hell, where it is said that brimstone burns with a pale blue flame. This, plus the fact that the French term is bleu as well, makes me feel this isn't the right etymological alley. Although the Americans were outnumbered 3 to 1, they comletely roputed the Mexicans. Lewis 07/10/03 07/10/03 "Also found this quoted from "Once Upon a Stage" by Samuels and Samuels(NY: Dodd Mead & Co, 1974). — Eric. Anyway, lightning is definitely nasty stuff. 08-08-2005, 01:09 PM. Well, perhaps - but that doesn't square with its use by people in show business, especially the more raffish kinds of show business like nightclubs and burlesque.it was standard practice to change the color filters on spotlights when the star dancer went into the gamier parts of her act. "Don't say 'slob' or 'son of a gun' or 'hully gee'* on the stage unless you want to be canceled peremptorily. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. 1 @Mitch, one of the answers mentioned "curse a blue streak" which does have - that's what made me think – mgb May 27 '11 at 21:10. Curse a blue streak. You obeyed them or quit. Askia. Inside would be a curt order to cut out a blue line of a song, or piece of business. The trout colour addition made me accept this answer. And same, red, but it expressing emotion — from dark anger to sweet blushes and lightest, innocent baby pink and sanguine good health. So to curse "a blue streak" would mean the profanities come out in a long excited rush --- but the 'blue' in this case remains part of the unitary expression 'blue-streak' (and it may be helpful to think of it as if it were hyphenated). > We speak, for example, of sadness or depression as “the blues,” although no one has ever come up with a convincing explanation why. To use profane language with great rapidity and intensity. It just means 'fast' (as far as I know). Posted by Brad on February 18, 2008 at 09:33: In Reply to: Blue streak posted by Smokey Stover on February 15, 2008 at 01:30: : : : : : I have found several threads in the archives relating to the phrase "blue streak" or "curse a blue streak.". What does curse a blue streak expression mean? This would result in "cursing a blue streak". Some towns in the US still enforce “blue laws” forbidding or restricting certain activities on Sundays, but the origin of the term has been lost in the mists of time along with the Puritans who concocted the laws. See also: blue, curse, streak blue streak in AZ Dictionary (n) Informal anything moving extremely fast. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. – Avner Shahar-Kashtan Oct 20 '16 at 18:46. blue streak in Community Dictionary n. a rapid-fire, frequently absurd sequence of obscenities created from pure angerv. All of which brings us to “blue streak,” which means “with great intensity or speed” and originated in the US in the early 18th century. ), the painters (Van Gogh and?) To curse a a blue streak means to curse rapidly in a constant, unending stream of curse words. Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, curse (someone or oneself) for (something), curse (someone or something) under (one's) breath, curses, like chickens, come home to roost. Bookworm 07/09/03. : : : For another view, see our archive, s.v. 148-149. : : : : : I was surprised that nobody seemed to get to the bottom of this expression which actually arose during the days of vaudeville. It’s possible, however, that “blue” in the “porn” sense arose from the term “blue laws” being generalized to mean any kind of censorious legislation. It comes from an eighteenth-century British expression “to be blue-deviled.” The thought was that blue devils were responsible for causing low spirits, and it’s a short linguistic step from being “blue-deviled” to being “blue.” The expression was carried across the Atlantic, and, in the nineteenth century, a new genre of music was born. What does cursing a blue streak expression mean? My dad cussed a blue streak after he found out I'd put a dent in his car. Anyway, these major theatres had very strict rules about appropriate language and any performer who cursed on stage would be reprimanded in writing and on a blue piece of paper. “Blues” music does often center on depressing “blue” subjects (lover left, dog died, etc. Consequently, the phrase 'blue streak' or 'curse a blue streak' grew to be synonymous with being "off-color" or inappropriate. Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, curse (someone or oneself) for (something), curse (someone or something) under (one's) breath, curses, like chickens, come home to roost. So to curse "a blue streak" would mean the profanities come out in a long excited rush --- but the 'blue' in this case remains part of the unitary expression 'blue-streak' (and it may be helpful to think of it as if it were hyphenated). THough I don't think this is relevant to your actual question, the 'blue' in 'blue streak' does not have the connotation/meaning of 'rude'. (n) Informal an immediate and seemingly interminable blast of words: curse a blue streak. curse a blue streak To use profane language with great rapidity and intensity. Dear Word Detective:  I was wondering if you could help me find the origin of the phrase “blue streak” as in “talk a blue streak” or “curse a blue streak.”  The only thing I could find was that it might have something to do with lightning. “Blues” music . To use profane language with great rapidity and intensity. : SS. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. The Morris Dictionary has a separate entry on the term blue laws. I'm 99% certain that it is an accurate account. curse a blue streak To use profane language with great rapidity and intensity. 1. Related phrases are curses a blue streak, cursed a blue streak, cursing a blue streak . https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cursing+a+blue+streak. The phrase “Blue Streak” originated during the battle of the Sacramento River (part of the Mexican American War) in 1847. There was no arguing about the orders in the blue envelopes. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/curse+a+blue+streak. This is the easiest way to find a column on a particular word or phrase. Blue phosphors were already in use for this in the seventeenth century (and who knows? Where and how such language got its name is hard to find out. Curse a blue streak. Mexicans heard the marching Americans singing “Green Grows the grass of my Kentucky Home” and started referring to them as Gringos. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. The tale about blue-paper reprimands from theater management sounds belabored and unlikely. Posted by Adrian on July 09, 2003. Bill could cuss a blue streak by the time he was eight years old. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. : Since blue can mean profane, the stream of words could be one epithet after another. To use profane language with great rapidity and intensity.