What does bluey mean?
"Bluey" is an informal English noun built by adding the familiar suffix -y to the colour word "blue," and it carries several distinct meanings depending on region and context. At its simplest, it describes anything that is blue or has a bluish tinge, as when a grey paint is described as looking slightly bluey. In Australian and New Zealand English, however, the word has a richer heritage: it was the standard term for the rolled bundle of belongings that a swagman or itinerant worker carried on his back, a fixture of outback life celebrated in folklore and in the song "Waltzing Matilda." The same word serves as a traditional, affectionate nickname in Australia — given both to people with red hair (an ironic twist, since their hair is not blue at all) and to blue heeler cattle dogs. Because all its senses are colloquial, "bluey" belongs to casual speech rather than formal writing, yet its folk associations give it enduring cultural resonance.
nounAn informal word for something that is blue or bluish in colour. In Australian and New Zealand English it also denotes a traveller's or swagman's bundle of belongings, and is a traditional nickname for a red-haired person or a blue cattle dog.
- Something that is blue or bluish in colour (informal).
- Australian/NZ: a swagman's or traveller's bundle of belongings wrapped in a blanket.
- Australian/NZ informal: a nickname for a person with red hair, or for a blue (Australian cattle) dog.
"The old swagman slung his bluey over his shoulder and headed down the track."
"She gave the walls a fresh coat with just a hint of bluey in the grey."
"Every drover on the road carried a bluey stuffed with a billy can and spare shirt."
Regular plural; used mainly of the travellers' bundles.
"The verandah of the pub was lined with the blueys of men waiting for work."
In Australia, calling a redhead "Bluey" is so traditional that the nickname usually means the exact opposite of the colour blue.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bluey
"Bluey" is formed straightforwardly from "blue," which entered Middle English from Old French "bleu," ultimately from a Germanic root (*blēwaz) meaning blue or shining darkly; this root has sometimes been linked to Latin "flavus" (yellow), whose derivatives include "flavin." The suffix -y creates familiar diminutive or descriptive nouns. The Australian senses arose in the nineteenth century among itinerant bush workers, who called their rolled-up bundles "blueys," and the ironic nickname for redheads developed from the same fondness for colour-based nicknames.
How bluey is actually used
All senses are informal. The 'bundle' sense is now largely historical, evoking the era of itinerant workers immortalised in the ballad "Waltzing Matilda." The nickname "Bluey" for a redhead is affectionate rather than derogatory, and remains current in rural Australia.
Easily confused with bluey
"Blue" is the standard adjective or noun for the colour itself, whereas "bluey" is an informal noun typically denoting a bluish thing, a traveller's bundle, or a nickname.