In Canada, the word "bluenose" has a very positive meaning. The internationally acclaimed "Bluenose" is the clipper ship that adorns the canadian 10 cent piece. She was an international racing ship -and she won every race she sailed. She hails from Halifax and consequently those who live in Halifax are called "Bluenosers" (aside from being called "Haligonians").
 While flying to Ireland this summer, I sat next to a man from Cork. I asked him for some suggestions of places to visit and we struck up a conversation. Upon my mentioning some well-known Irish tourist attraction, his eyes sparkled as he said, "You don't want to go there, it's been washed with the Blue Rinse. You want something authentic."
It turns out that something in Ireland that has been washed with the BlueRinse means that it has been completely "Americanized."
In American English these folks are generally known as "blue hairs." The theatre community uses the phrase to denote the type of audience typically found at matinee performances; "How will that scene play with the blue hairs?" is a common query.
Meanwhile, among those who wait tables, "the blue hairs" are -- rightly or wrongly -- thought to be the worst tippers. No one wants to take a table of blue hairs. Speaking of the waiting profession, in the late '80's, we came to be gender-non-specifically called "waitrons," which was phased out in favor of the current "servers."
There's a good reason for blue rinse. As we age, a yellow film develops over the eye, making colors look dull and muted. This is why the stereotypical old opera goer will wear bright red rouge and lipstick and a loud dress. To her eye, the red makeup looks pink.
White or gray hair will look brassy to her eye. With a blue rinse, the hair looks silver or white instead.
Perhaps, it's just the circle I run in, but I've always used the phrase "blue hairs", to speak of elderly women. Not all elderly women, but the type that drive at slow speeds, with one blinker flashing and need a booster seat to see past the steering wheel, or those that count out pennies at the cashier when there's a huge line up behind them. The groovier one's are Old Girls. I hope to be an Old Girl myself one day.
And in Brazil when you're feeling blue it means everything's great!
This morning while watching brakfast TV my brother noticed that Dr. Tim Johnson was pronouncing antibiotic "antibotic" anad dropping a syllable. We learned from AWAD (A Word A Day)that an epenthesis is when a person adds a syllable to a word. My brother would like to know what is the word for when a person drops a syllable?
The word is haplology. A good example is "aluminium" which in the US is known as "aluminum". It all depends which side of the pond one happens to be on: Britons accuse Americans of haplology while the latter believe it is the former who are committing epenthesis. I'm partial to aluminium -- it conforms to others, such as potassium and magnesium.
Blue may be a wishy washy color in our language but black and white are not. In our subtly racist mother tongue, nearly every thing associated with white is "good" while, to an even greater degree, nearly everything associated with black is bad (Black hat, blackhearted, blackball, blackmail, black cat crossing our paths, etc.). I wish black and white were as confusing as blue.
Certainly every language has its own way of using concrete colors to express abstract concepts. No less so Mandarin Chinese.
To refer to something as the 'Blue Root' means it's the original work, or the source on which other works are based. You can informally refer to a young lady as a 'Yellow Flower Girl,' identifying her as a maiden or a virgin. But if the book you're reading or the movie you're watching is 'Yellow,' then that means it's obscene, even pornographic. A fellow's wife might enjoy thinking back over the 'Pink Memories' of their courtship days (i.e., romantic memories), but if on the other hand he's 'Wearing a Green Hat,' then that means she's been very seriously cheating on him. A 'Black Man' is an unregistered resident, and if the local officials are taking in 'Grey Income,' then they've been accepting money under the table.
No doubt the color red is paramount to the Chinese, in both ancient and modern history. The last generation sang of their great leader, 'The sun is crimson red, and Chairman Mao is most beloved'; and to be 'Red-Hearted' was to be fully devoted to the revolution. Red also, from ancient times, has denoted, among other things, honor and favor, such as when you give an esteemed older friend or teacher a red envelope for Chinese New Year, which contains gift money. In a similar way, if a boss gives a favored employee 'the Red Envelope,' then that person is getting a special bonus, and may even be called 'Red Man' by his co-workers, indicating the preferential treatment he's receiving. And if your name shows up on the 'Red Board,' that means you made the honor roll.
But beware of a disgruntled acquaintance telling you that he's "going to give you some color to look at." That's the Chinese way of saying, "I'm going to teach you a thing or two!"
This colorful metaphor to refer to a specific group of people reminded me of a local/regional (Philippines) phrase circa late 1950's - 1970's.
The phrase is "blue seal": referring in general to an American or anything made in or imported from the USA. Also used to refer to contraband/smuggled merchandise (from the US bases - Subic & Clark). The origin of the phrase is the "blue" band/seal on cigarette packs from the United States. People used the actual phrase "blue seal" even when they were speaking in any of the dialects/languages, not just in English. It was commonly used in an admiring sense, infrequently as a derogatory term.
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