All the Variations, Shades, and Definitions of Blue

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 Overview:

• An unexpectedly multifaceted English word examined through color, emotion, temperature, and cultural usage—plus comparisons to Russian and historical linguistics.

Why it came up:

• The hosts had recently discussed Russian—the language’s treatment of blue inspired today’s topic.

Linguistic Insight: Russian Words for “Blue”

• Russian distinguishes light and dark blue with two separate terms:
  • синий
     (siniy) — dark blue
  • голубой
     (goluboy) — light blue
• Scientific studies show Russian speakers identify shades of blue faster and more precisely than English speakers because their brains associate distinct words with each hue.
• English only modifies blue with adjectives (e.g., sky blue, navy blue, midnight blue), while Russian encodes the difference as separate words entirely.

English Uses of “Blue” - The hosts brainstormed, then checked definitions in the Oxford Language Dictionary.

1. Color:
   • Basic meaning: hue between green and violet.
   • Nuances: sky blue, ocean blue, navy, azure.
   • Describes appearance of things (skin tone from cold, animals like blue jays or Russian Blue cats).
   • Used categorically (even in physics: “blue quark”).
2. Feeling:
   • Emotional state of sadness or melancholy (“feeling blue”).
3. Content Rating:
   • “Blue humor” or “blue movie” = off-color, obscene, or adult-themed material.
4. Moral Tone (dated):
   • “Blue” once meant rigidly religious or moralistic — ironic given the modern usage for adult entertainment.
5. Nouns Representing Things:
   • Civil War: Union Army (“the Blues”).
   • Clothing color references, butterflies, and species names.
6. Verbs:
   • To “blue” metal (giving it a gray-blue finish).
   • “Bluing” laundry (washing whites with blue tint).
   • Historical variant of “blow” (as in “blew it all on sweets”).
7. Cooking Temperature (modern usage):
   • “Blue” or “extra rare” steak (110–115°F / 43–46°C).
   • So little cooked that the reddish interior gives the surface a bluish reflection.
   • Not temperature-safe per USDA guidelines (minimum 145°F).

Cultural and Personal Tangents

• Mention of “Code Blue” (hospital emergency) and “Blue Light Special” (retail slogan).
• “Feeling blue” leads to nostalgic reference to the song “I’m Blue.”
• Discussion of food safety and different national norms.
• Anecdote: earlier favorite restaurant’s rare steak special (so cheap, it may have caused bankruptcy).
• Humor about having a “Russian Blue” cat — ironic, since in Russia the name would mean something else entirely.

Closing Observations

• Russian’s two blues highlight linguistic relativity — vocabulary shapes perception.
• English compensates with creative modifiers but lacks built-in semantic depth for shades.
• Russian possibly “superior” linguistically: clearer color distinctions, simpler consonant system, and no confusion over English C/K/S spelling.

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Any views expressed on this podcast are those solely of the hosts and is for entertainment purposes only. None of the content is medical advice or financial advice.

Special thanks to Tim Wright aka CoLD SToRAGE for his permission to use the song Operatique.