Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—B

Blush

At the first blush. At the first glance; speaking off-hand without having given the subject mature deliberation. The allusion is to blushing at some sudden or unexpected allusion; the first time the thought has flashed into your mind.

To put to the blush.
To make one blush with shame, annoyance, or confusion.

“England might blush in 1620, when Englishmen trembled at a fool's frown [i.e. James I.], but not in 1649, when an enraged people cut off his son's [Charles I.] head.” —Wendell Phillips: Orations, p. 419.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Bo
Blurt out
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