'At first blush' definitions:
Definition of 'at first blush'
From: WordNet
adverb
As a first impression; "at first blush the offer seemed attractive" [syn: at first blush, when first seen]
Definition of 'At first blush'
From: GCIDE
- Blush \Blush\, n.
- 1. A suffusion of the cheeks or face with red, as from a sense of shame, confusion, or modesty. [1913 Webster]
- The rosy blush of love. --Trumbull. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A red or reddish color; a rosy tint. [1913 Webster]
- Light's last blushes tinged the distant hills. --Lyttleton. [1913 Webster]
- At first blush, or At the first blush, at the first appearance or view. "At the first blush, we thought they had been ships come from France." --Hakluyt.
- Note: This phrase is used now more of ideas, opinions, etc., than of material things. "All purely identical propositions, obviously, and at first blush, appear," etc. --Locke.
- To put to the blush, to cause to blush with shame; to put to shame. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'At first blush'
From: GCIDE
- First \First\ (f[~e]rst), a. [OE. first, furst, AS. fyrst; akin to Icel. fyrstr, Sw. & Dan. f["o]rste, OHG. furist, G. f["u]rst prince; a superlatiye form of E. for, fore. See For, Fore, and cf. Formeer, Foremost.]
- 1. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest; as, the first day of a month; the first year of a reign. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest; as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece. [1913 Webster]
- At first blush. See under Blush.
- At first hand, from the first or original source; without the intervention of any agent. [1913 Webster]
- It is the intention of the person to reveal it at first hand, by way of mouth, to yourself. --Dickens.
- First coat (Plastering), the solid foundation of coarse stuff, on which the rest is placed; it is thick, and crossed with lines, so as to give a bond for the next coat.
- First day, Sunday; -- so called by the Friends.
- First floor. (a) The ground floor. [U.S.] (b) The floor next above the ground floor. [Eng.]
- First fruit or First fruits. (a) The fruits of the season earliest gathered. (b) (Feudal Law) One year's profits of lands belonging to the king on the death of a tenant who held directly from him. (c) (Eng. Eccl. Law) The first year's whole profits of a benefice or spiritual living. (d) The earliest effects or results. [1913 Webster]
- See, Father, what first fruits on earth are sprung From thy implanted grace in man! --Milton.
- First mate, an officer in a merchant vessel next in rank to the captain.
- First name, same as Christian name. See under Name, n.
- First officer (Naut.), in the merchant service, same as First mate (above).
- First sergeant (Mil.), the ranking non-commissioned officer in a company; the orderly sergeant. --Farrow.
- First watch (Naut.), the watch from eight to twelve at midnight; also, the men on duty during that time.
- First water, the highest quality or purest luster; -- said of gems, especially of diamond and pearls.
- Syn: Primary; primordial; primitive; primeval; pristine; highest; chief; principal; foremost. [1913 Webster]