Cool German Idioms 1 - blau
Some Idioms with "blau"
blauer Montag
(literally: blue Monday)
a Monday on which you skip work
mit einem blauen Auge davonkommen
(literally: to escape with a blue eye)
to get off lightly
jemandem blauen Dunst vormachen
(more literally: to fool someone with blue mist)
to throw dust in somebody's eyes
sich grün und blau ärgern
(more literally: to turn green and blue with annoyance)
to get very annoyed
der Blaue Planet
(literally: the blue planet)
the planet Earth
der blaue Brief
(literally: the blue letter)
a letter containing unpleasant news
Blauer Brief
"Blauer Brief" most commonly refers to a letter that a school will send to parents warning that their son or daughter may not pass and be required to repeat the shool year.
A "Pink Slip" or notice from an employer that one is being fired or laid off is often referred to as "Blauer Brief".
The "Notice to Quit" from a landlord terminating your tenancy, is also sometimes called "Blauer Brief".
If you read German, find out more about the history of the term, and regional differences in how it is used in this Wikipedia entry.
I don't really know why German has so many idioms using the color "blue". Yes there is the English "feeling blue", or "being blue" i.e. being sad. But, if you were to express such a feeling and translate, "I'm blue", into German as "Ich bin blau", you will get some astonished or worried looks.
If you come across other German idioms using "blue", send us a note to info@gamesforlanguage.com and we'll add them here!