Meanings
- idiomaticpluralplural onlyslangLow spirits; depression.
...ye who believe in the pernicious efforts of "Blue Devils," subscribe at once to that Paragon of Newspapers, "The Yankee Blade."
1847, editorial staff, “The Yankee Blade”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 661 more example
"[…] 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?"
1890, William Morris, News from Nowhere, in the journal The Commonweal. (First published in book form 1890.)Synonyms: mulligrubs
- figurativelypluralplural onlyslangDepressants, especially the barbiturate amobarbital.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounLow spirits; depression.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Originally apparitions supposed to be seen by sufferers of delirium tremens.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French idée noire, déprime
- idée noirelow spirits
- déprimelow spirits
Polish dołek
- dołeklow spirits
Russian хандра́
- хандра́ (xandrá)low spirits
Cite this entry
blue devils. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20devils
“blue devils.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20devils. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blue devils,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20devils.
Source: blue devils on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.