blueing

Verb (1)

blue (third-person singular simple present blues, present participle blueing or bluing, simple past and past participle blued)

1. (ergative) To make or become blue; to turn blue.
   • It blows, it snows,
     And blues your nose,
     My toes are all frost bitten
     The weather would
     Quite starve the crows,
     Or freeze the part you sit on.1900 July 8, The Truth, Sydney, page 1, column 6

   Synonyms:

   bluen

2. (transitive) To treat the surface of steel so that it is passivated chemically and becomes more resistant to rust.
3. (transitive, laundry) To brighten by treating with blue (laundry aid).
4. (Australia, intransitive, slang) To fight, brawl, or argue.
   • It was years since Ken had flogged her up, but blueing with him still made her ache.2018, Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much Lip, University of Queensland Press, published 2023, page 146

Verb (2)

blue (third-person singular simple present blues, present participle blueing or bluing, simple past and past participle blued)

1. (dated, slang, transitive) To spend (money) extravagantly; to blow.
   • So far as I can see, there’s nothing to prevent you from drawing a cheque for fifty thousand and blueing the lot.1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night

See all 52 meanings of blue