blue balls
Americanplural noun
Etymology
Origin of blue balls
First recorded in 1915–20
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The project involved a room with a wool carpet below and pale blue balls of felted wool above, both of which were infused with a scent of snow.
From Washington Post • Feb. 5, 2022
Before global warming, the bucket contained almost entirely blue balls with a handful of red ones mixed in.
From Slate • Jul. 24, 2018
The player has to select combinations of "filters" generated by the game to separate the blue balls from the gold balls, and successfully doing so assists with the software verification process.
From BBC • Jul. 20, 2015
Sets of data - good and bad - are converted into coloured balls that are presented to the player - blue balls representing good values, and gold balls representing bad values.
From BBC • Jul. 20, 2015
However, seeing me inflexible with regard to my linen, he at length unbuckled his hanger, and, showing me the three blue balls, desired me to carry it thither and pawn it for two guineas.
From The Adventures of Roderick Random by Smollett, T. (Tobias)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.