This is the context where I read this:
Quand les arbitres de L1 ont un petit coup de blues, ils peuvent jeter un œil à ce qui se passe au Pérou
what's the meaning of "coup de blues" here ?
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Have you looked at the definition in a dictionary? If you're asking why they experience a coup de blues, we would need a little more context.– Stéphane GimenezMay 22, 2015 at 8:49
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4 Answers
Have you checked the Wiktionary ?
There is a dedicated entry for "Coup de blues".
And it means :
Moment pendant lequel on éprouve de la mélancolie, une tristesse passagère un peu floue.
Be careful the plurial is : Coups de blues
Un coup de blues = A small amount of blues.
It's a phrase meaning a little bit down. Essentially it's "feeling a little bit blue", with the same use as in English.
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2I am not sure un coup de can really be translated to English (you can think of un coup de Trafalgar, un coup de foudre, but I guess the coup never translates). I am not sure it helps your answer. "Feeling blue" on the other hand is probably the best translation you could have found.– ChopMay 22, 2015 at 5:48
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@Chop While I totally agree that “un coup” defies literal translation in most fixed expressions containing it, “un coup de blues” might be an exception with “un coup” meaning “a touch” (= ‘a small amount,’ as suggested in Axelrod’s good answer), as in “a touch of the blues.” May 22, 2015 at 13:16
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@PapaPoule A quick Google search found "a touch of the blues" only as a title of a song. Really, the only translation I know is "feeling blue". Blues is a feeling, I hardly see what an amount of blues could be. "An amount of happiness" sounds really awkward to me.– ChopMay 22, 2015 at 14:38
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@Chop If you add “had” or “have” to the Google search you’ll filter out most of the song title hits to reveal that it’s a well-used phrase. You’re right though, stating one’s “blues/happiness level” in terms of an amount is awkward (notwithstanding Zeppelin’s cool use of “whole lotta blues”); but using the idiomatic “a touch of” with blues, happiness, or just about anything works for me, as does translating at least some of the idiomatic uses of “un coup de” as “a touch of.”That said, I agree that “small amount” is slightly awkward here&doesn't help. I would have put “a touch of the” instead. May 22, 2015 at 15:23
That idiom means to feel slightly depressed and is linked to the English "to have the blues" from the African-American music.
It is having a down day or like missing someone deeply
