Hey there, this is Teacher Ola Podcast episode 77: 7 Blue Idioms You Need To Know.
My name’s Ola and I’ve overcome a massive language blockade myself and now I help you do the same. I’ve been teaching English since 2012. If you want to eliminate your fear of speaking and boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar, improve your pronunciation, this podcast is for you! Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. Happy learning!
Hello there, welcome to another episode aiming at boosting your vocabulary. 7 Blue idioms you need to know. Do you need to use them? Hell no! You just need to know them. To comprehend what’s going on. To be able to react and speak English fearlessly. If you decide to use it, spot on! Do it and feel comfortable with it. Practice speaking, go through many examples in the practical part and make sure you get them right!
What’s in it for you today? 7 blue idioms. Surprise, surprise. First of all, how to express your sadness without using the word ‘sad’. How to describe events which happen unexpectedly. Thing which happen extremely rarey. Why do some people have blue blood? Why do we hate being black and blue? What is the opposite of a blue-collar worker and what do the both mean? Last but not least, blue in the face. What does it mean and how to use the idiom? Then, practical part my dear listener. If you’ve tuned in to the episode 76 you know exactly what to do with that practical part. If not, please go to the previous episode, episode 76. In the practical part you’ll hear 19 sentences with all the blue idioms you will have learnt by then. Your task is to repeat them all out loud.
Let’s now move on to seven blue idioms:
To feel blue
Blue means sad. If you’re feeling blue, which is totally normal, it’s ok, you’re human, you’re allowed to feel lots of different emotions. Everybody feels blue from time to time. Some of us feel blue quite a lot, even every day. I hope you know how to lift yourself up and you know what cheers you up and you know how to simply balance all those feelings. Blue means sad, without hope. Maybe even depressed. You will practice wthis particular phrase in the practical section, so stay with me. There are 6 more idioms to go. Let’s jump right into the second one, which is:
Out of the blue
Out of blue means unexpected. So things often happen out of blue. They happen unexpectedly. Without a warning. You may come across a phrase: a bolt from the blue or a bolt out of the blue. A complete surprise.
Once in a blue moon
Very rarely., very seldom. How often do you see a blue moon? Quite a rare occurrence.
Blue blooded
If someone is blue-blooded, he or she has blue blood. And blue blood refers to the fact of being a member of an aristocracy or royal or noble family. A blue blood as a noun and it means a person. He’s a blue blood. What;s interesting is the origins of this idiom. Well, people from the aristocracy were perceived as people of pale, even white complexion with visible veins, blue veins. That’s it. Blue-blooded. Blood is pronunced with the /a/ sound. Blood.
Black and Blue
Black and blue means badly bruised. The skin is black and blue as a result of being hit.
Blue-collar worker
Blue collar workers are people who do physical work in industry. You might also come across ‘blue collar voters’ or ‘blue collar votes’. White collar workers are connected with office jobs.
Blue in the face
If you’re blue in the face you’re at a point of extreme exasperation. It means to try to do something as hard and as long as you possibly can but without success. Without achieving what you wanted.
Time to practice. This is it, the essential part of the whole episode. Listen, retain, repeat. Ready, let’s do it:
He’d been feeling blue all week.
You look like you feel blue. What’s wrong?
I’ve been feeling kind of blue.
It was totally out of the blue.
She told me, out of the blue, that she was going to live in New York.
And now you turn up out of the blue talking to me like that!
The decision came out of the blue.
We go out to eat once in a blue moon.
I used to spend a lot of time in London, but now I only go there once in a blue moon.
He visits his mother once in a blue moon.
A blue blood probably could never understand the pain of being homeless.
Had they been born with blue blood, would their experience have been any different?
After the fight the boy was all black and blue.
The only time I was black and blue was after my accident last year.
His political support comes mainly from blue-collar workers.
I argued with them until I was blue in the face.
You can argue till you’re blue in the face, but you won’t change my mind.
You can tell them till you’re blue in the face, but they’ll still do what they want.
That’s it for the practical part, let’s now summarize what we’ve covered today. Today we’ve learnt 7 blue idioms. Let’s have them listed.
- To feel blue
- Out of the blue
- Once in the blue moon
- Blue-blooded
- Black and blue
- Blue-collar worker
- Blue in the face
Here you have it! 7 blue idioms. Now it’s time for homework. Take it to the next level and download the worksheet. Practice translating Polish sentences into English. The worksheet is available at teacherola.com/77. While you’re there scroll it all the way down and leave a comment. Tell me which blue idiom you are going to use from now on? Let m know. You can always contact me if you have any questions or suggestions at contact@teacherola.com. You’re free to DM me on Instagram where I hang out quite often.
Share this episode with someone you think might need it. I would love this podcast to reach people who feel blocked when it comes to speaking in English.
Next week we’re going to explain song lyrics. Valentine’s Day is coming so it has to be a love statement, right? See you next Wednesday. Till then have a great, fearless week. Happy learning bye-bye!