black and blue
Showing impact marks
Black and blue describes skin discolored by bruising—the dark purple and bluish tones that appear after an injury.
The phrase typically emphasizes severity: He was beaten black and blue.
It can extend figuratively to emotional battering: The critics left her black and blue.
- injuredHaving sustained harm
- contusionTissue damage beneath skin
- beatenHaving lost a contest
- beat upAssault physically, cause injury
- hematomaBlood collected outside vessels
livid · battered · domestic violence · technicolor · discoloration · welt · defeated · bruised ego · downtrodden · swelling · mauled · bar fight · rough and tumble · wound · marked up · Etta James · stubbed · walking wounded
- Steak Donenessrare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well done
- appearance idiomsall dolled up, dolled up, done up, dressed to kill, dressed to the nines
- woundswound, wounded, bullet wound, wounds, ulcer