have the blues
Meaning: To feel sad or depressed.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Every January, when the holidays are over and the days are dark, I get the blues.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Short for "the blue devils," which in the 18th century meant low spirits and later the hallucinations of delirium tremens. "The blues" is recorded for melancholy from the mid-18th century, well before the name passed to the music that grew up in the American South at the end of the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Avoir le cafard — literally: To have the cockroach
- French: Avoir le bourdon — literally: To have the bumblebee
More idioms — Daily Life
- stand someone up — To fail to show up for a date or appointment, leaving the other person waiting.
- tell tall tales — To tell exaggerated or untrue stories.
- that ship has sailed — It is too late; the opportunity has passed.
- talk behind someone's back — To say unkind things about someone when they are not present.
- be on pins and needles — To be very anxious while waiting for something.
- make a killing — To make a lot of money quickly.
More English idioms
- have bigger fish to fry — To have more important things to deal with.
- navel-gaze — To be absorbed in oneself and one's own concerns to an excessive degree.
- be a pain in the neck — To be very annoying.
- have one's cake and eat it too — To want two things that cannot both be had.
- muddy the waters — To make a situation confusing, often on purpose.
- be bone idle — To be extremely lazy.
From our false friends
- Lectura — Actually means 'reading'. A lecture is una conferencia.
- Compromiso — Actually means 'commitment', 'obligation', or 'engagement'. For a negotiated compromise,…
- Gracioso — Actually means 'funny' or 'amusing'. For gracious (kind and polite), say amable.