The idiom “to feel blue” expresses sadness and is associated with the musical genre “the blues.” Other colors, such as red and black, are also used to represent emotions. The origin of “feeling blue” is unclear, but it may be related to tears or the color’s association with subdued emotional states. Blue can also be associated with positive emotions, such as happiness and good weather. However, beginners should remember that blue is most commonly associated with sadness in idiomatic phrases.
When English speakers mention the idiom “to feel blue”, they are expressing sadness or a similar emotion. This phrase is used in many ways in the English language, including in one musical genre, “the blues,” which involves not only a specific musical structure, but also a lyrical element that focuses on hardship and suffering. Feeling blue is an idiom that highlights a cultural association between a certain color and an emotion.
It is important to note that while the use of “feel blue” does not have a precise opposite corollary idiom, there is the idiomatic use of “sunny” or “bright” to represent positive emotions. Also, blue isn’t the only color in the palette associated with emotion. Other “emotional colors” work in a similar way, where an intangible feeling is tied to a visual color.
Several idiomatic phrases in English refer to red to indicate anger. Someone might say “I saw red” indicating that the speaker was extremely angry. Similar ideas exist in phrases like “red rage” or “red nature in tooth and claw,” where the latter represents that ferocity of the natural animal world.
Many other phrases use the word black to mean pessimism, cynicism, anger or depression. If someone is having a “bad day,” they are having a particularly bad day. The same type of idea is also used in other phrases such as “black mood”.
Different theories abound as to the exact origin of the term “feeling blue” or “feeling blue.” Some point out that the water in human tears may have been perceived as “blue” in physical representation such as cartoons. Blue is also a “cool color,” which is associated with more subdued emotional states. It should also be noted that a bluish curtain on the skin is often an indication of poor health. Perhaps unsurprisingly, darker shades of blue are more commonly associated with sadness than lighter shades.
While there are a wide variety of phrases that connect blue with sadness or a negative emotion, there are also others that associate the color blue with more positive emotions. Many of these are based on the idea of a blue sky with white balance. Using the phrase “blue sky” can be associated with happiness, openness, and the more tangible idea of good weather. This can confuse those unfamiliar with all the idiomatic uses of color phrases. For the most part, beginning English speakers can remember that the most common and simplest phrases, including “to feel blue,” usually associate blue with sadness.
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