Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
adv
[of an emergency vehicle] with the blues and twos switched on
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, UK, informal, not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The flashing lights and loud siren of an emergency vehicle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, UK, informal, plural, plural-only
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Originally 1960s police slang, from the blue colour of the lights and the two-tone sound of the siren. Popularised by Blues and Twos, a documentary series broadcast on ITV from 1993.
