Julie in Fort Pierce, Florida, recalls that on sweltering days her mother would declare the weather was hotter than Billy Blue Blazes! The word blazes is a euphemism for “hell,” as in hot as blazes. The blue in blue blazes has long been used as an intensifier, appearing in such phrases as go blue blazes meaning “to get angry” and What in blue blazes? as an expression of surprise or exasperation. Billy Blue Blazes is a further elaboration, appearing in such expressions as colder than Billy Blue Blazes or angrier than Billy Blue Blazes. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Hotter Than Billy Blue Blazes”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, my name is Julie and I’m calling from Fort Pierce, Florida. How are you?
Oh, super. Thanks for calling, Julie. What’s up?
So I just wanted to call in. I’m a longtime listener and I do have a phrase that was a favorite of my mother’s.
It’s kind of unique in the sense that not a whole lot of people in my family remember her saying it, but I sure do.
And I’m in my 50s now and I use it all of the time.
So I know I got it from her, just not sure where she got it from.
The phrase is, it’s hotter than Billy Blue Blazes.
Hotter than Billy Blue Blazes.
So is she talking about food or spicy wings? What is she talking about?
So she would specifically use it in the instance of like if we’re outside or at the pool or when my daughter was younger, she’s 22 now.
But when she would visit us here in Florida or even when we would visit her in Texas and it was a hot summer day or hot spring day, she would just say, whew, it’s hotter than Billy Blue Blazes out.
Oh, I love it.
Martha, we know something about this one, don’t we?
Yeah, yeah.
And have you heard people say things like, it’s hot as blazes without the billy blue?
I have heard that.
So I thought it must be connected some way.
We see as far back as the early 19th century that blazes is a euphemism for hell.
And, you know, if you’re talking about something that’s really intense, you might talk about blue blazes.
And if you’re angry, you might go blue blazes or say, what in blue blazes?
But your mother had that Billy in there, too.
That’s really interesting, right?
It is.
And I have to tell you, if you knew her personality and her way, she had to make it cute.
Oh.
You know?
But it’s not unique to her, though, right, Martha?
No.
No, not at all.
Other people have said Billy blue blazes.
They sure have.
And interestingly, they’ve also said colder than Billy blue blazes.
It’s just an even more intense version.
So you might say colder than Billy Blue Blazes or angrier than Billy Blue Blazes.
And it’s not as if there was a particular person named Billy who inspired this.
I think the earliest mention of Billy Blue Blazes I ever saw was in an 1885 newspaper in England where it was talking about dog racing.
And this dog named Billy Blue Blazes lost to another dog named Tommy Rot.
So that’s actually a really good clue because that shows us if the dog had that name, that saying was probably already making the rounds, even if we can’t find it in print before then.
Exactly.
Today, I think it sort of softens the idea of Blue Blazes.
I don’t know.
Well, it sure does.
Now that I know what it means, what it’s referring to, makes me feel like, wow, what a really neat connection.
And just real quick, and I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but my mom has Alzheimer’s.
And so this is one little phrase that I feel really connected to her with because she doesn’t say a whole lot anymore.
And so thank you for explaining it to me.
It’s just kind of a fun connection I have to her.
And now my own daughter says it.
So it’s kind of fun.
Well, and here you are carrying on the tradition.
We appreciate it, Julie.
That’s right.
Thank you so much for explaining it to me.
I appreciate it.
Take care of yourself, all right?
You too.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Take care, Julie.
Bye-bye.
Okay, bye-bye.
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