Carli-blue

In Mom’s report of our trip to Puerto Rico in 1996, she described a bay we passed on our drive along the West coast of the island, writing:

The water was Carli-blue.

One day toward the end of my freshman year at college, my good friend Donna Fukumoto told a group of friends about something unusual she had seen, saying, “It’s color was…um…Carli-blue.” She meant a particular bright blue-green color that I wore frequently—so frequently that I and everyone else listening knew immediately what she meant. The following summer, Mom picked up the term from Donna when she came down to Belize with me for a short visit.

I believe Carli-blue is properly called cerulean, although the term can be used to refer to the entire range of shades from aqua, through turquoise, to teal.

A year or so after grad school, while shopping with my good friend Catherine Pfeil, I was attracted (as usual) by the color of a Carli-blue pullover. When I picked it up, Catherine commented tactfully that I already had lots of clothes the same color, so it might be better to get the pullover in a different color instead. Although I still wear Carli-blue frequently, thanks to Catherine’s suggestion, I have expanded the palette of my wardrobe.