the blues

the blues — idiom

1. a temporary period of sadness or discouragement, when a person feels unhappy and

1.idiomB1
Definition

a temporary period of sadness or discouragement, when a person feels unhappy and lacks energy or interest in everyday things — similar to feeling down, but without a clear or serious cause.

Example

After her cat ran away, Aoi had the blues for almost a week.

Hugo went for a long walk in the park to shake off the blues.

collocation: shake off the blues

Common collocations
  • have the blues
  • get the blues
  • shake (off) the blues
  • the blues lift
  • cure for the blues
  • a case of the blues
Synonyms
  • sadness

    more general and neutral; can be used in formal contexts

  • the doldrums

    similar informal idiom, but less common; also means a state of inactivity

  • low spirits

    similar register, but slightly more formal than 'the blues'

Antonyms
  • happiness

    the opposite emotional state, broader and more formal

  • cheerfulness

    active positive mood, opposite of feeling down

Grammar Patterns

have + the blues

get + the blues

shake off + the blues

Usage Note

Commonly used with the definite article — you cannot drop 'the'. Frequently appears with 'have', 'get', 'shake off', and 'cure'. Less formal than 'depression' and does not describe a clinical condition.

Common Mistakes

I have had blues all week.
I have had the blues all week.
The definite article 'the' is always required with this idiom.
The doctor diagnosed her with the blues.
The doctor diagnosed her with depression.
'The blues' refers to everyday sadness, not clinical depression.

Etymology

EnglishAmerican English

The phrase 'the blues' for sadness comes from the 18th-century expression 'blue devils', meaning a feeling of melancholy or low spirits. The colour blue has been linked to sadness since at least the 1300s, when Chaucer wrote of 'blue' as a colour of woe. By the 1800s, 'the blues' was used in everyday American English to describe a passing mood of sadness. Decades later, the African-American musical genre blues took its name from the same emotional state.