Meanings
- idiomaticdurationFor a hopelessly long time; used especially in respect to discussing, explaining, insisting, etc.
Near-synonym: until the cows come home
2 more examples
You can explain it until you're blue in the face, but he will never understand.
Poor Johnny one-note yelled willy nilly / Until he was blue in the face
1937, Rodgers and Hart, “Johnny One Note”Synonyms: until the cows come home
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbFor a hopelessly long time; used especially in respect to discussing, explaining, insisting, etc.
Origin
By figurative extension from the concept of being literally out of breath (from talking so much, exerting oneself so much, and so on), which may sometimes cause one's face to look wan.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech do zemdlení, do úmoru
- do zemdlenífor a long time
- do úmorufor a long time
- do zblbnutífor a long time
French jusqu'à en perdre haleine
- jusqu'à en perdre haleinefor a long time
Polish do utraty tchu
- do utraty tchufor a long time
Russian до посинения
- до посинения (do posinenija)for a long time
Cite this entry
until one is blue in the face. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/until%20one%20is%20blue%20in%20the%20face
“until one is blue in the face.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/until%20one%20is%20blue%20in%20the%20face. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “until one is blue in the face,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/until%20one%20is%20blue%20in%20the%20face.
Source: until one is blue in the face on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.