blue devils

plural noun

1. low spirits; depression.
2. delirium tremens.

blue devils

plural noun

1. a fit of depression or melancholy
2. an attack of delirium tremens

Word History and Origins

Origin of blue devils¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

"The only place in Trinidad and Tobago, and by extension the world, where you can find blue devils come Carnival Monday, is Paramin," Curdell says.

From BBC

The “blue devils” then gather at the town’s crossroads, spitting fake blood, to terrify the children of their neighbors, or of visitors from the island’s nearby capital of Port of Spain.

From The New Yorker

“I’m well, but you sound like you’ve got a bit of the blue devils!”

From Time

The blue devils were drawn up in formation in the middle of a big meadow cupped within hills.

From Project Gutenberg

Archibald, duke of Argyle, was haunted by blue phantoms—the origin of our epithet for melancholy, "blue devils."

From Project Gutenberg