blue balls

See also: blue-balls

English

Etymology

US English, 1910s, blue +‎ balls (“testicles”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

blue balls pl (plural only)

1. (slang) A cramp-like ache in the testicles and prostate region caused by prolonged sexual arousal; testicles experiencing such an ache.
2. (slang, figuratively) Unfulfilled sexual desire.
3. (US, dated, slang) Buboes (in a person of any sex) caused by a sexually transmitted infection; the infection that causes them.
   • 1920, V.D. pamphlet‎^[1], page 33:

     [...] away the flesh and cause ulcers and buboes (blue balls).

   • 1960, Laman Alexander Gray, A Text Book of Gynecology, page 47:

     It invades lymphatics, is carried to the inguinal lymph nodes, where multiple abscesses, buboes, or "blue balls" appear. A brawny edema of the labia, with deeply penetrating destructive ulcers may occur in the late stages.

Derived terms

• blue-ball
• blue-baller
• blue vulva

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “blue balls n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang