look blue —(coll.) look sad or depressed:
- A guy stopped at my door and asked what was the matter with me. I said, “Nothing.” He said, “You look blue.”
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase till one is blue in the face—do smth. over and over again but without any effect:
- I talked till I was blue in the face, trying to explain where this would lead to.
look blue around the gills —(coll.)
1. look indisposed or unwell:
- John is looking a little blue around the gills. What’s wrong?
2. look as though one is about to be sick:
- As the sea became rougher many passengers began to look blue around the gills.