blue fire
An older British slang phrase for lurid, melodramatic, or sensationalist writing — the kind of overwrought romanticism that prioritizes shock and spectacle over substance.
Definitions
An older British slang phrase for lurid, melodramatic, or sensationalist writing — the kind of overwrought romanticism that prioritizes shock and spectacle over substance. Think purple prose cranked to eleven, gothic emotion, and theatrical excess. The term draws on the theatrical use of blue-colored flames for dramatic effect in nineteenth-century stage productions, where 'blue fire' created an eerie, supernatural atmosphere. Figuratively, it came to mean anything exaggerated for dramatic impact.
The critic dismissed the novel as nothing but blue fire — all atmosphere and zero plot.
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(UK, slang, dated) Sensational romanticism.
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(literally) A fire that burns a blue color.
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