blue balls

American  

[bloo bawlz] / ˈblu ˌbɔlz /

plural noun

Slang: Vulgar.

1. a painful condition of the testes and scrotum arising when sexual arousal is not followed by orgasm, as when stimulation is interrupted before climax can occur.

---

Etymology

Origin of blue balls

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

The project involved a room with a wool carpet below and pale blue balls of felted wool above, both of which were infused with a scent of snow.

From Washington Post • Feb. 5, 2022

Before global warming, the bucket contained almost entirely blue balls with a handful of red ones mixed in.

From Slate • Jul. 24, 2018

The player has to select combinations of "filters" generated by the game to separate the blue balls from the gold balls, and successfully doing so assists with the software verification process.

From BBC • Jul. 20, 2015

Sets of data - good and bad - are converted into coloured balls that are presented to the player - blue balls representing good values, and gold balls representing bad values.

From BBC • Jul. 20, 2015

A pawnbroker's: alluding to the   three blue balls, the sign of that trade: or perhaps to its   being two to one that the goods pledged are never redeemed.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis