Prooshan Blue

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

A term of great endearment, when, after the battle of Waterloo, the Prussians were immensely popular in England. Sam Weller, in Pickwick Papers, addresses his father as "Veil, my Prooshan Blue.

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 “Prooshan Blue” mean?

A term of great endearment, when, after the battle of Waterloo, the Prussians were immensely popular in England. Sam Weller, in Pickwick Papers, addresses his father as "Veil, my Prooshan Blue.

Is “Prooshan Blue” formal or informal?

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