English · Idiom Candidate

blue devils

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Feelings of anxiety or depression

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Cảm giác lo lắng hoặc trầm cảm

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: evil spirits

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

After losing his job, he was haunted by the blue devils

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Sense 2

Meaning · English

the apparitions supposed to be seen by habitual drunkards. Form of del. trem.

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Colors Devils & ghosts Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “blue devils” mean?

Feelings of anxiety or depression Literally: evil spirits

Is “blue devils” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.