When people say "you only see that once in a blue moon"?

Question

I know it means that you rarely see it at all,,, but where did this saying come from, because i have never seen a blue moon??

Answer 1

Meaning it is a rare event

The time required from full moon to full moon is29.5days.

So some times,we get two full moons in a month.This is called blue moon

Real blue moon occurs rarely due to volcanic dust in atmosphere

Answer 2

The phrase "once in a blue moon" originated when Krakatoa blew. The gases and dust that were belched in the atmosphere indeed caused the moon to have a bluish tint. Since an event like Krakatoa doesn't happen very often, any odd event, particularly with the moon, is called a blue moon. Our present day use of this phrase applies mainly to two full moons in a given month.

Answer 3

Thank You Terry R for the Krakatoa fact, an interesting one I didn't know.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/...

It explains how "Blue" came to mean "Rare". Thumbs up!

Answer 4

The moon's not actually blue.  It refers to seeing a second full moon within  1 month.

That second full moon in that month is called a blue moon.

Sorry....I don't quite know where it originated from.

Answer 5

Once in a blue moon

Meaning

A very rare event. According to popular usage, a blue moon refers to the second full moon that occurs in any calendar month. On average, there will be 41 months that have two full moons in every century. By that calculation 'once in a blue moon' means once every two-and-a-half years.

There are rare examples of the moon actually appearing blue, after volcanic eruptions or unusual weather conditions. That's not what is being referred to in this phrase though. Just the opposite in fact as a blue moon was originally cited as something that was absurd and therefore impossible; only later did it come to mean unlikely.

Answer 6

Actually there is such a happening as a blue moon and this happens very very rarely. That's why the saying meant that it would happen rarely.

Answer 7

It refers to a second full moon in the same month.  This happens rarely, so any event that happens rarely is said to occur once in a blue moon.

Answer 8

It comes from when there happens to be two full moons in one month. The blue reference isn't relevant to the actual color of the full moon at any point.

Answer 9

it is refering to a full moon.