FAST-US-7 U.S. Popular Culture Notes
Connotations of the Color Blue . . .
FAST-US-7 United States Popular Culture (Hopkins)
Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere


  • Consider the Finnish concept of a sininen hetki  ("blue moment"?) . . .
And its translatability into English, vs the following English expressions involving the color blue.

English-speakers (at least American English speakers) have been conditioned toward the following connotations of "blue" due to the popular [culture] thinking in which they live

  • blue dream, blue movie, blue jokes, blue laws (Puritan heritage)
  • 'cursing a blue streak', blue balls (venereal disease)
  • 'blue book' (U.S. higher education exam answer booklets)
  • having the blues, feeling blue, playing the Blues
  • a blueblood, having blue blood (aristocratic)
  • blue pills (cf. the 'boingg effect')
  • blue bullets, bluebirds (vs red devils, yellowjackets, etc.) — drug capsules (cf. also blue heaven, blue angel)
  • blue darter, blue blazer (baseball terms)
  • blue envelope (vs pink slip) — notice of losing job . . .
  • blue highways (cf. Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon)
  • blue eyes (pure, bright, innocent) vs. blue-eyed (naive)
  • IBM blue, 'Big Blue'
  • blue(s) (sailor), blue(s) (police; cf. "NYPD Blue") — other blue-colored "uniforms" . . .
  • "blue" vs "red" states (liberal vs conservative)
  • "Blue Monday" (plus "pink slips") [PDF]
Consider also other colors: red, white, brown, green, purple, yellow, pink, black . . . (including the different connotations of Black Monday, Black Tuesday, Black Wednesday, Black Thursday, Black Friday, Black Saturday, and Black Sunday — most of which have numerous 'identities' of their own)


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Last Updated 07 January 2010