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Fabric interest

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

Blue shaven

English answer:

close-shaven/clean-shaven

Added to glossary by Yvonne Gallagher
Jan 18, 2014 14:17
10 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

Blue shaven

English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
"The muscular cheeks of this person and a certain generosity of chin he possessed were blue shaven and he had no moustache. "

The quotation is from a British novel published in 1905. Could you please explain what "blue shaven" means?
Responses
3 +3 close-shaven
4 +7 shaved, with a faint 'blue' haze
References
I'd hazard that the greenness is a resul...
Change log

Jan 18, 2014 16:45: David Moore (X) changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Jan 19, 2014 16:20: Yvonne Gallagher Created KOG entry

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (3): Yvonne Gallagher, P.L.F. Persio, David Moore (X)

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Discussion

Alexandra Schneeuhr Jan 18, 2014:
It may be irrelevant to a monolingual English question, but the same term (literally 'shaven-till-turned-blue') was in common use in Russian at about the same time period, usually referring to a person who took extra care to shave cleanly and closely... I don't remember coming across this term in later-dated writings though.
Catharine Cellier-Smart Jan 18, 2014:
@Tony Possibly, either it was a fashionable term for the period, or it really refers to a particular way of being shaved, but in the latter case I'm darned if I know what!
Tony M Jan 18, 2014:
@ Catherine Before safety razors came in, giving a closer shave?
Catharine Cellier-Smart Jan 18, 2014:
Interesting that there are several literary references to "blue-shaven" or "blue-shaved", not just HG Wells' and that all are from the first half of the 20th century.

Responses

+3
22 mins
Selected

close-shaven

not absolutely sure but think it means absolutely no stubble so very close shaving...

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Note added at 23 mins (2014-01-18 14:41:11 GMT)
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I think Gillete used the colour "Blue" as their razor name for this reason

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Note added at 6 hrs (2014-01-18 20:30:57 GMT)
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The comments from our Russian colleagues makes me more confident of my answer.

Shave(n) so closely/cleanly that all that remains is a bluish skin tint but no stubble or hairs

really not convinced "5 o'clock shadow" is the equivalent of this as that equates to designer stubble and appears several hours after shaving rather than a (just-)shaven appearance.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2014-01-18 20:38:21 GMT)
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Confidence gone up another notch with CD's endorsement:-)

so: clean-shaven or close-shaven

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Note added at 1 day56 mins (2014-01-19 15:14:30 GMT)
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I've read a bit further on and the man in question has RED HAIR and his face is "beardless" so fairly sure now it means clean-shaven here

"...Then the cyclist reappeared, and Kipps saw his blue-shaved, rather animated face, and bright, reddish-brown eyes for the first time. He was a man, perhaps, ten years older than Kipps, but his beardless face made them in a way contemporary..."

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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2014-01-19 16:15:09 GMT) Post-grading
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Great! So glad you found a supporting reference. Glad to have helped.

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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2014-01-19 16:17:16 GMT) Post-grading
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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13449619-the-copperhead
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Not really, I don't think, G — the idea is that even when cleanly-shaven, there remains a faint tinge of blueish-black, from the tiny tips of the hairs visible in their follicles. / I think 5 o'c shadow is the modern term for the same thing.
2 mins
Possibly :-) but is that not 5 o'clock shadow when the hairs become slightly visible? http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/five-o-clock-shadow.html
agree Alexandra Schneeuhr
4 hrs
Many Thanks Alexandra:-) Your comment is interesting re Russian.
agree Natalia Volkova : There is almost the same expression in Russian.
5 hrs
Many thanks Natalia:-)
agree Charles Davis : Or simply "clean-shaven". I am quite sure this is what it means: not even the slightest stubble. "To blue shave" is used as a verb, and it just means to clean-shave.
5 hrs
Many thanks Charles:-) I just added a note above. I'm now more confident myself...//Have to say I never heard of verb "to blue shave:-)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I have found a reference to “blue shaven” in The Civil War Stories of Herold Frederic,“His expansive upper lip was blue from many years of shaving” http://books.google.com.tr/books?id=ab6EubFPUPoC&pg=PA3&dq=blue+shaven&hl=tr&sa=X&ei=1t_bUpuXBoyihgefoYDACw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=blue%20shaven&f=false So I gather that it means “Shave(n) so closely\cleanly” for a long time. Thank you for your answer. "
+7
23 mins

shaved, with a faint 'blue' haze

It means the person had shaved, so there was no actual beard etc., but that there was a faint 'blueish' hint, as the (dark) hairs were still just visible where they'd been cut off. It's the stage you get before actual 'stubble' is visible, and is typically used as an image to suggest a very masculine man.

Here is an image that shows sort of the kind of effect (though this is listed as being actual stubble):

https://d1ij7zv8zivhs3.cloudfront.net/assets/3630780/lightbo...

It's not really blue, just sometimes seems to take on a blueish tinge.
Peer comment(s):
agree Veronika McLaren
8 mins
Thanks, Veronika!
agree Victoria Britten
15 mins
Thanks, Victoria!
agree P.L.F. Persio
1 hr
Thanks, Miss!
agree juvera : No so much a stubble, but strong, dense, black facial hair, giving a "blue" tinge to his skin where the facial hair is shaven off.
1 hr
Thanks, Juvera! Exactly
agree cynthiatesser
2 hrs
Thanks, Cynthia!
agree JaneTranslates : Similar, perhaps, to what my dad used to call his "5 o'clock shadow" (which usually appeared around noon, after shaving at 7:30 am).
8 hrs
Thanks, Jane!
agree Joyce A
20 hrs
Thanks, Joyce!
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

23 mins
Reference:

I'd hazard that the greenness is a result of dark facial hair not being totally masked by the skin itself (like Fred Flintstone's 5 o'clock shadow), but I'm no expert in the field (I only look in my own mirror and see I have a blue-green tinge to my head when I shave it - it's perfectly smooth, so I don't feel the need to go buy a product for a non-problem)...

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Note added at 26 mins (2014-01-18 14:44:05 GMT)
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.....
If your skin is turning green from shaving I would recommend going to a medical doctor and having them check it out.
No sir, it is not something medical defect, most people in india have their skins having a shade of green after repeated shaving, and the barbers tell the reason as shaving against the growth of beard for the color change / shade change ,,

.......
maybe you should discontinue use of kelp based shave soap or clean your razor. That means I don't believe it, and/or you should follow the previous advice. When a dermatologist confirms that this condition is from "antiquated shaving techniques" please let us know.
Reference:

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/skin-shade-change-after-shaving.13733/

Peer comments on this reference comment:
neutral Catharine Cellier-Smart : the question refers to blue, not green.
7 mins
Something went wrong...
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