blue devils
nounEtymology Originally apparitions supposed to be seen by sufferers of delirium tremens.
- ...ye who believe in the pernicious efforts of "Blue Devils," subscribe at once to that Paragon of Newspapers, "The Yankee Blade."1847, editorial staff, “The Yankee Blade”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 66:
- "[…] the disease is either extinct, or exists in such a mild form that a short course of aperient medicine carries it off. It is sometimes called the Blue-devils now or the Mulleygrubs. Queer names, ain't they?"1890, William Morris, News from Nowhere, in the journal The Commonweal. (First published in book form 1890.)
2
Figuratively, Slang Depressants, especially the barbiturate amobarbital.
- Synonyms
- mulligrubs