blue moonn.

Brit.

/ˌbluː ˈmuːn/, U.S.

/ˈˌblu ˈmun/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: blue adj., moon n.¹

Etymology: < blue adj. + moon n.¹ In sense 2a after once in a moon at once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 4; compare also to say that the moon is blue at moon n.¹ Phrases 2.

1. A moon (real, depicted, or imagined) that appears blue.On rare occasions the moon can appear distinctly blue owing to the presence of smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere.

ΚΠ

1702 J. Petiver Gazophylacii I. 16 This exactly resembles our English Brimstone Butterfly..were it not for those black Spots, and apparent blue Moons in the lower Wings.

1753 London Daily Advertiser 10 Jan. 1/2 The ladies of those Days painted red Suns, blue Moons, and little Stars in white upon their Faces.

1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 14 He started from his trance—The cold white light of morning, the blue moon Low in the west.

1883 Science 24 Aug. 252/1 The red sun and the blue moon mean higher temperature and general rain.

1943 Sci. Fiction July 80/1 A gravity plate..had resisted the tug of Mars only to buckle on little Phobos, crippling our ship on a blue moon that traveled in the wrong direction.

1987 BOMB Spring 74 If a blue moon sat in the empty sky..would I regret knowing that its source was a rare rising of forest fire dust?

2004 G. G. Kay Last Light of Sun (2005) x. 276 He had plenty of time to think under the summer stars as the blue moon westered through clouds.

a. colloquial. A long or indefinite length of time; a rarely recurring period or event.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > infrequency > infrequently or it rarely happens [phrase]

it is seldom that1390

it is seldom when1600

(for) once in a way1759

blue moon1821

the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [noun] > rare or occasional thing

strawberry preaching1548

hen's teeth1700

blue moon1821

gold dust1840

a sometime thing1935

1821 P. Egan Real Life in London I. xiv. 249 ‘How's Harry and Ben?—haven't seen you this blue moon.’ [Note] Blue Moon—This is usually intended to imply a long time.

1869 E. Yates Wrecked in Port II. ix. 212 That indefinite period known as a ‘blue moon’.

1914 R. Graves Compl. Poems (1999) III. 316 Come along, gents: I'll play you a tune That you won't 'ear twice in a blamed blue moon.

2009 C. McLaren Infiltration xiv. 176 I remember..reading her two heartfelt pages of why she needed to ‘do this’. I still read that note every blue moon.

b. once in a blue moon: rarely, exceptionally. Cf. once in a moon at once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 4.

ΚΠ

1833 Athenæum 16 Nov. 780/1 We are no advocates for the eternal system of producing foreign operas to the exclusion of the works of English composers, but once in a blue moon such a thing may be allowed.

1876 M. E. Braddon Joshua Haggard's Daughter III. i. 4 A fruit pasty once in a blue moon.

1896 W. Black Briseis vi, in Harper's Mag. 92 230 You might once in a blue moon come upon an elderly lady wearing divided skirts.

1928 V. Delmar Bad Girl i. xii. 133 Not that it wasn't excusable once in a blue moon.

1955 Times 26 Aug. 7/4 And when, by some mischance, once in a blue moon, the bell does ring, how startled we are.

1976 National Skat & Sheepshead Q. Mar. 18 How many of you readers ‘blow’ the big hand—the one that appears once in a blue moon?

2001 J. Boyle Galloway Street 14 Once in a blue moon I get a penny.

3. Originally U.S. Originally: the third full moon in a season which (exceptionally) contains four full moons (each season, as defined by the mean sun, normally containing three full moons) (now historical). In later use: a second full moon in a calendar month.As shown in Sky & Telescope (1999) May 36–8, the later use of the term originated in a misunderstanding of the source of quot. 1937 by the author of quot. 1946. A blue moon in the original Maine Farmers' Almanac sense can only occur in the months of February, May, August, and November. In the later sense, one can occur in any month except February. This later sense gained currency from its use in a United States radio programme, StarDate, in 1980, and its inclusion in the game Trivial Pursuit in 1986.Earlier occurrences of the sense given in the Maine Farmers' Almanac have not been traced, either in editions of the Almanac prior to 1937, or elsewhere; the source of this application of the term (if it is not a coinage by the editor, H. P. Trefethen) is unclear.

ΚΠ

1937 Maine Farmers' Almanac Aug. 21/2 This extra moon had a way of coming in each of the seasons so that it could not be given a name appropriate to the time of year like the other moons. It was usually called the Blue Moon. There are seven Blue Moons in a Lunar Cycle of nineteen years.

1946 J. H. Pruett in Sky & Telescope Mar. 3 Dr. L. J. Lafleur quotes an explanation found in the Maine Farmers' Almanac for 1937... Full moons of the year were given names..provided there was only one per month. These names were as follows: Moon after Yule, Wolf Moon, Lenten Moon, [etc.]... But seven times in 19 years there were—and still are—13 full moons in a year. This gives 11 months with one full moon each and one with two. This second in a month, so I interpret it, was called Blue Moon.

1989 Pop. Photogr. June 7/1 A full moon is hovering above the flags in the Washington Monument shot. In fact, it is what's called a blue moon, the second full moon in one month.

2002 Sci. Amer. Aug. 95/2 So when someone today talks about a blue moon, he or she is referring to the second full moon in a month.

2010 Independent 1 Jan. 9/1 Blue moons occur every two or three years but the next time one takes place on New Year's Eve will be in 2028.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	blue moon
释义	blue moonn. Brit. /ˌbluː ˈmuːn/, U.S. /ˈˌblu ˈmun/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: blue adj., moon n.¹ Etymology: < blue adj. + moon n.¹ In sense 2a after once in a moon at once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 4; compare also to say that the moon is blue at moon n.¹ Phrases 2. 1. A moon (real, depicted, or imagined) that appears blue.On rare occasions the moon can appear distinctly blue owing to the presence of smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere. ΚΠ 1702 J. Petiver Gazophylacii I. 16 This exactly resembles our English Brimstone Butterfly..were it not for those black Spots, and apparent blue Moons in the lower Wings. 1753 London Daily Advertiser 10 Jan. 1/2 The ladies of those Days painted red Suns, blue Moons, and little Stars in white upon their Faces. 1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 14 He started from his trance—The cold white light of morning, the blue moon Low in the west. 1883 Science 24 Aug. 252/1 The red sun and the blue moon mean higher temperature and general rain. 1943 Sci. Fiction July 80/1 A gravity plate..had resisted the tug of Mars only to buckle on little Phobos, crippling our ship on a blue moon that traveled in the wrong direction. 1987 BOMB Spring 74 If a blue moon sat in the empty sky..would I regret knowing that its source was a rare rising of forest fire dust? 2004 G. G. Kay Last Light of Sun (2005) x. 276 He had plenty of time to think under the summer stars as the blue moon westered through clouds. 2. a. colloquial. A long or indefinite length of time; a rarely recurring period or event. ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > infrequency > infrequently or it rarely happens [phrase] it is seldom that1390 it is seldom when1600 (for) once in a way1759 blue moon1821 the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [noun] > rare or occasional thing strawberry preaching1548 hen's teeth1700 blue moon1821 gold dust1840 a sometime thing1935 1821 P. Egan Real Life in London I. xiv. 249 ‘How's Harry and Ben?—haven't seen you this blue moon.’ [Note] Blue Moon—This is usually intended to imply a long time. 1869 E. Yates Wrecked in Port II. ix. 212 That indefinite period known as a ‘blue moon’. 1914 R. Graves Compl. Poems (1999) III. 316 Come along, gents: I'll play you a tune That you won't 'ear twice in a blamed blue moon. 2009 C. McLaren Infiltration xiv. 176 I remember..reading her two heartfelt pages of why she needed to ‘do this’. I still read that note every blue moon. b. once in a blue moon: rarely, exceptionally. Cf. once in a moon at once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 4. ΚΠ 1833 Athenæum 16 Nov. 780/1 We are no advocates for the eternal system of producing foreign operas to the exclusion of the works of English composers, but once in a blue moon such a thing may be allowed. 1876 M. E. Braddon Joshua Haggard's Daughter III. i. 4 A fruit pasty once in a blue moon. 1896 W. Black Briseis vi, in Harper's Mag. 92 230 You might once in a blue moon come upon an elderly lady wearing divided skirts. 1928 V. Delmar Bad Girl i. xii. 133 Not that it wasn't excusable once in a blue moon. 1955 Times 26 Aug. 7/4 And when, by some mischance, once in a blue moon, the bell does ring, how startled we are. 1976 National Skat & Sheepshead Q. Mar. 18 How many of you readers ‘blow’ the big hand—the one that appears once in a blue moon? 2001 J. Boyle Galloway Street 14 Once in a blue moon I get a penny. 3. Originally U.S. Originally: the third full moon in a season which (exceptionally) contains four full moons (each season, as defined by the mean sun, normally containing three full moons) (now historical). In later use: a second full moon in a calendar month.As shown in Sky & Telescope (1999) May 36–8, the later use of the term originated in a misunderstanding of the source of quot. 1937 by the author of quot. 1946. A blue moon in the original Maine Farmers' Almanac sense can only occur in the months of February, May, August, and November. In the later sense, one can occur in any month except February. This later sense gained currency from its use in a United States radio programme, StarDate, in 1980, and its inclusion in the game Trivial Pursuit in 1986.Earlier occurrences of the sense given in the Maine Farmers' Almanac have not been traced, either in editions of the Almanac prior to 1937, or elsewhere; the source of this application of the term (if it is not a coinage by the editor, H. P. Trefethen) is unclear. ΚΠ 1937 Maine Farmers' Almanac Aug. 21/2 This extra moon had a way of coming in each of the seasons so that it could not be given a name appropriate to the time of year like the other moons. It was usually called the Blue Moon. There are seven Blue Moons in a Lunar Cycle of nineteen years. 1946 J. H. Pruett in Sky & Telescope Mar. 3 Dr. L. J. Lafleur quotes an explanation found in the Maine Farmers' Almanac for 1937... Full moons of the year were given names..provided there was only one per month. These names were as follows: Moon after Yule, Wolf Moon, Lenten Moon, [etc.]... But seven times in 19 years there were—and still are—13 full moons in a year. This gives 11 months with one full moon each and one with two. This second in a month, so I interpret it, was called Blue Moon. 1989 Pop. Photogr. June 7/1 A full moon is hovering above the flags in the Washington Monument shot. In fact, it is what's called a blue moon, the second full moon in one month. 2002 Sci. Amer. Aug. 95/2 So when someone today talks about a blue moon, he or she is referring to the second full moon in a month. 2010 Independent 1 Jan. 9/1 Blue moons occur every two or three years but the next time one takes place on New Year's Eve will be in 2028. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1702
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