true-blue
adjective

- completely loyal to a person or belief

- marked by unswerving loyalty (as to a party)

- if you describe someone as true-blue, you mean that they are right-wing in their ideas and opinions

The Cambridge Dictionary / Merriam-Webster / Collins Dictionary

—
PHRASE ORIGIN

“True blue” starts to be recorded in the 1630s — the story goes that the city of Coventry in the English midlands was famous for dyeing a blue that would neither change colour nor fade in washing, and that “true blue” was coined to indicate a person who would likewise never alter their principles nor their allegiances. A proverb, first recorded around 1630, “True blue will never stain”, embodied the ideal of constancy in the figurative stain, and may be connected to the blue aprons traditionally worn by butchers in order not to show bloodstains.

In 19th century Australia, many letters to newspapers advocating conservative views were signed “True Blue” and referred to striking workers who were loyal to their comrades and steadfast in resistance. The working-class associations remain and occur also in the term “blue-collar” from the US (but with a different origin).

From the early 20th century “true-blue” — especially with the phrases “true-blue Australian” and “true-blue Aussie” — came also to refer to a quintessential Australian: straightforward, loyal and supportive of his mates. It has also borrowed a sense taken from another perceived Australian attribute: a genuine person or thing.

American readers will state that “true blue” is common in their country, too. It describes a committed supporter of some cause or a loyal fan. In the political sense it’s often applied to the Democrats but a person can also be a true-blue Republican, loyalty being more significant than conventional party colours.

—
SYNONYMS

adherence, allegiance, bleed for, bond, committed, commitment, constancy, constant (as the northern star), dedicated, devoted, devotedness, devotion, dyed in the wool, faithfulness, fealty, fidelity, go to bat (mat) for, heart and soul, homage, keep the faith, keep true, knotted, loyalty, on your side, play on the same team, stand by, stick by (together), support, supportiveness, through thick and thin, to the bitter end, tough it out, troth, trustworthiness, true, TRUE-BLUE, true-hearted, trustworthy, trustworthiness, united

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Many of us are TRUE-BLUE supporters of learning a second language to promote international understanding.”

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations.

Every month, I spend evening and weekend hours with my family researching and writing your daily OWAD. It remains FREE, AD-free, and ALIVE thanks to voluntary donations from appreciative readers.

If you aren’t already, please also consider supporting us - even the equivalent of a single cup of coffee a month will help us cover mailing, site hosting, and maintenance costs. Just head over to DonorBox:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-5-3

or bank transfer to Paul Smith
IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40
Please use your email-address as ‘Verwendungszweck’

Thank you,
Paul