Peur bleue??

[Mina42192]

Hello,

just reading something and came across the phrase 'peur bleue.'

Does it mean terrified??

Also, how does one use the phrase??

Thank you

[Ekalisood]

"une peur bleue" refers to a very important level of fear. It's still used in everyday French. The expressions mentionned by Prénom Pierre are over-familiar so be careful using those.

Il a failli me tuer, j'ai eu une peur bleue! = He almost killed me, I was scared stiff!

[Mina42192]

can it also be used as 'j'ai un peur bleue' as in I have a fear of/ i a terrfied of ?

I read this sentence somewhere: 'J’ai une peur bleue de l’ennui.'
So does that mean I have a fear of boredom/ I am terrified of boredom???

[Ekalisood]

Yes of course. J'ai une peur bleue des chiens = I am terrified by dogs (basically means you've a phobia in this context)

Hope it's clear enough

[Prenom.Pierre]

"to be scared stiff" says the dictionnary.

Nowadays, young people prefer to say "flipper" or "flipper à mort" or "avoir la trouille de sa vie". I don't know if young people say "j'ai eu une peur bleue", the expression seems somewhat obsolete or literary.