To blue pencil

Posted by ESC on August 13, 2005

In Reply to: To blue pencil posted by ESC on August 13, 2005

: : I need to know the idiomatic meaning of the following expressions:
: : Jeremiah
: : to play hooky
: : to blue pencil
: : I thank you in advance

: Jeremiah is from the Bible (see No. 2, Merriam-Webster):

: Main Entry: Jer·e·mi·ah
: Pronunciation: -'mI-&
: Function: noun
: Etymology: Late Latin Jeremias, from Greek Hieremias, from Hebrew YirmeyAh
: 1 : a major Hebrew prophet of the 6th and 7th centuries B.C.
: 2 : one who is pessimistic about the present and foresees a calamitous future
: 3 : a prophetic book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture -- see BIBLE table

: "Blue pencil" is to edit or correct something. Editors traditionally used a blue pencil. I am not sure why. Maybe to stand out from the white paper/black ink.

Hooky -- see the archives: www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 6 messages 773.html

• Play hooky

• To play hookey Smokey Stover 14/August/05
  • To play hookey James Briggs 15/August/05
    • To blue-pencil Smokey Stover 17/August/05