blue beans
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Bullets or shot; hence, "Three blue beans in a blue bladder," a rattle for children.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “blue beans” mean?
Bullets or shot; hence, "Three blue beans in a blue bladder," a rattle for children.
Is “blue beans” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.