Blue devils
noun, slang
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Low spirits; depression. idiomatic, plural, plural-only, slang
""[…] the disease is either extinct, or exists in such a mild form that a short course of aperient medicine carries it off. It is sometimes called the Blue-devils now or the Mulleygrubs. Queer names, ain't they?""
- 2 a state of depression wordnet
- 3 Depressants, especially the barbiturate amobarbital. figuratively, plural, plural-only, slang
Example
More examples""[…] the disease is either extinct, or exists in such a mild form that a short course of aperient medicine carries it off. It is sometimes called the Blue-devils now or the Mulleygrubs. Queer names, ain't they?""
Etymology
Originally apparitions supposed to be seen by sufferers of delirium tremens.