Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Blue Devils |
Blue DevilsNoun1. Acute delirium caused by alcohol poisoning. 2. A fit of despondency. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Blue Devils or A fit of the blues. A fit of spleen, low spirits. Roach and Esquirol affirm, from observation, that indigo dyers are especially subject to melancholy; and that those who dye scarlet are choleric. Paracelsus also asserts that blue is injurious to the health and spirits. There may, therefore, be more science in calling melancholy blue than is generally allowed. The German blei (lead) which gives rise to our slang word blue or blucy (lead) seems to bear upon the "leaden down-cast eyes" of melancholy. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Slang in 1811 | BLUE DEVILS. Low spirits. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
During World War I, the French "Chasseurs Alpins" were soldiers trained in alpine combat, native to the French Alps region. Because of their distinctive blue uniform, with a blue cape and beret, they were nicknamed "les Diables Bleus", translated as "the Blue Devils." They first entered the public spotlight for their courage in the March 1915 Vosges Campaign. Units of the French Chausseurs Alpins toured the United States, helping to promote the war effort. In 1918, Irving Berlin wrote a song honoring them, "The Blue Devils of France," with the lyrics, "He's a devil dressed in blue / And a soldier through and through ... Strong and active, most attractive / Are the Blue Devils / They came here the Liberty Loan to advance."
In 1920, Trinity College (the former name of Duke University) began intercollegiate competition in football. That first year, the team was simply known as the Trinity Eleven, the Blue and White, or the Methodists (nearby Wake Forest University's team was called the Baptists). In 1921, the student newspaper, the Trinity Chronicle, started a campaign for a "catchy name, one of our own possession that would be instantly recognizable nationwide in songs, yells and publicity." Nominations included Catamounts, Grizzlies, Badgers, and Captains. Many nominations used the traditional school colors of dark blue and white, such as Blue Eagles, Blue Devils, Blue Titans, and Blue Warriors. None of the nominations won strong favor, and the year ended without official selection of a name.
The class leaders of the Class of 1923 decided to simply select a name for their senior year. The editors of the Trinity Chronicle newspaper simply began referring to the athletic teams as the Blue Devils. With the war fresh in everyone's memories, the name needed no explanation. Although the name was somewhat unpopular and controversial on the Methodist campus, there was no opposition, even from the university administration. Eventually, the name caught on.
External Link: [1]
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Blue Devils."
Synonym: Blue DevilsSynonym: delirium tremens (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Dejection | Melancholy; sadness; Adjective: il penseroso, melancholia, dismals, blues, lachrymals, mumps, dumps, blue devils, doldrums; vapors, megrims, spleen, horrors, hypochondriasis, pessimism; la maladie sans maladie; despondency, slough of Despond; disconsolateness; Adjective: hope deferred, blank despondency; voiceless woe. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Blue Devils |
| Specialty definitions using "blue devils": Devils. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | And yet it has not the blue devils, but the blue angels in it, in the azure tint of its waters. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Expression using "blue devils": the blue devils. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| Language | Translations for "blue devils"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | blue Heaven (barbs, blue birds, blue bullets, blue dolls, blue heaven, blue tips, blues, red devils, yellow jackets), yellow Jackets (barbs, blue birds, blue bullets, blue dolls, blue heaven, blue tips, blues, red devils, yellow jackets, yellows), Phennies (barbs, blue birds, blue bullets, blue dolls, blue heaven, blue tips, blues, red devils, yellow jackets), Idiotenpillen (barbs, blue birds, blue bullets, blue dolls, blue heaven, blue tips, blues, red devils, yellow jackets). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ueblay evilsday Barbitúricos ou outros hipnóticos ou tranquilizantes (barbs, blue birds, blue bullets, blue dolls, blue heaven, blue tips, blues, red devils, yellow jackets), drunfos (barbs, blue birds, blue bullets, blue dolls, blue heaven, blue tips, blues, red devils, sleepers, softballs, yellow jackets). (various references) melancolie (gloom, gloominess, hip, melancholia, melancholy, sadness, spleen), inimã albastrã. (various references) уныние (black dog, damp, dejection, depression, despondency, discouragement, doldrums, dumps, gloom, low spirits, megrims, melancholy, sadness). (various references) barbituratos (barbs, blue birds, blue bullets, blue dolls, blue heaven, blue tips, blues, red devils, yellow jackets), melancolía (blues, gloom, gloominess, melancholia, melancholy, moodiness). (various references) iç sıkıntısı (hip, the blue devils). (various references) sự thất vọng (chagrin, collapsable, dejection, despair, despondency, let-down, suck-in). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-d-e-e-i-l-l-s-u-v" | |
-2 letters: bedevils, delusive, sublevel. | |
-3 letters: bedells, bedevil, bellied, bellies, bullied, bullies, dellies, edibles, elusive, libeled, sullied. | |
-4 letters: bedell, bedels, belied, belies, belive, belled, belles, beside, bevels, bevies, bields, billed, bleeds, builds, bulled, busied, delves, devels, devils, devise, diesel, duelli, edible, ediles, elides, eludes, leudes, levels, levied, levies, libels, sedile, seidel, sieved, veiled, villus, viseed. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Quotations: Fiction 6. Expressions 7. Translations: Modern 8. Anagrams | 9. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
