the.com/blue collar

The economy's hands; the one they only clap for during a crisis.

means Describes manual or industrial workers whose jobs involve physical labor, trades, or factory/manufacturing work, as opposed to office-based professional work.

from Coined in early 20th-century America, the phrase comes straight from the laundry basket: durable blue chambray or denim shirts were standard workwear because the dark color hid grease, dirt, and sweat stains that a white office shirt never could. 'White collar,' for clerks and professionals who could keep their collars pristine, emerged as the natural opposite — the two phrases growing up together as a tidy, cloth-based class divide.

origin
denim and chambray hid the grime, hence the name
myth
not low skill, just underpaid skill
irony
keeps lights on, rarely gets the spotlight
range
welders to electricians, not just factory floors
the.com · every word