blue pencil

blue pencil
noun
: any instrument (as a blue pencil) with which an editor makes deletions; also : the act or an instance of deleting

the book is a good one; vigorous use of a blue pencil would have made it better — Keith Hutchison

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blue pencil noun
A pencil of the colour traditionally used for correcting, emending, etc
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Main Entry: ↑blue

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blue pencil,
1. a pencil (traditionally blue) used to make corrections, deletions, or other changes in editing a manuscript: »

Most people imagine that an editor's life consists in sitting in an armchair wielding a blue pencil (Science News).

2. a correction, deletion, or other change made with or as if with a blue pencil: »

Figurative. In desperation, the five-man Commission accepted the blue pencil of the censor (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).

blue-pen|cil «BLOO PEHN suhl», transitive verb, -ciled, -cil|ing or (especially British) -cilled, -cil|ling.
1. to change, cut down, or cross out with a pencil: »

He blue-pencilled false quantities in Latin verse (G. Cannan).

2. to edit or censor.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • blue-pencil — [blo͞o′pen′səl] vt. blue penciled or blue pencilled, blue penciling or blue pencilling to edit, cross out, or correct with or as with a blue pencil …   English World dictionary

  • blue-pencil — blue′ pen′cil v. t. ciled, cil•ing (esp. brit.) cilled, cil•ling. to alter, delete, or edit with or as if with a blue pencil • Etymology: 1885–90 …   From formal English to slang

  • blue-pencil — index expurgate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • blue-pencil — Bluenoser Blue nos er); a Nova Scotian potato, etc. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] blue pencil lue pencil v. t. to change, delete, or abridge (a portion of a text) with a blue pencil (or as if with a blue pencil), as in the editing process; of books, etc …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • blue pencil —  1. Pencil used to censor a piece of writing.  2. blue pencil v. Censor …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • blue pencil — v. abridge, edit by deletion or marking in order to shorten a written document; alter or correct a written document as with a blue pencil …   English contemporary dictionary

  • blue pencil — noun a blue pencil as traditionally used to censor a text …   English new terms dictionary

  • blue-pencil — verb cut or eliminate she edited the juiciest scenes • Syn: ↑edit, ↑delete • Derivationally related forms: ↑deletion (for: ↑delete) • Hypernyms …   Useful english dictionary

  • blue pencil rule — blue pen·cil rule n: a rule in contracts: a court may strike parts of a covenant not to compete in order to make the covenant reasonable Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • Blue pencil (editing) — A blue pencil is a pencil traditionally used by an editor or sub editor to show corrections to written copy. The colour is used specifically because it will not show in some lithographic or photographic reproduction processes; these are known as… …   Wikipedia

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