身體上真的沒有血色
這一組貼著字面：血色從皮膚退掉了。這是整個字最原始、也最看得見的畫面，另外兩個意思都是從這裡借出去的。
adjective · B2
Used about a part of someone's body that looks pale and drained of colour, as if the blood has gone out of it.
沒有血色的；蒼白的
核心畫面
Start with what blood does in a body: it is warm, it is red, and it is the sign that something is alive. Now take it away and keep everything else. The shape is still there, but the colour is gone and the heat is gone. That one picture opens all three uses. Take the blood out of skin and you get lips and faces that have turned white. Take it out of an event and you get a change of power where nobody was hurt. Take it out of a piece of writing or a performance and you get something that is correct in every part and has no life in it.
先想血在身體裡做的事：它是熱的、是紅的，也是「還活著」的證據。現在把血拿走，其他東西都留著。形狀還在，可是顏色不見了…更多收起
先想血在身體裡做的事：它是熱的、是紅的，也是「還活著」的證據。現在把血拿走，其他東西都留著。形狀還在，可是顏色不見了，熱度也不見了。這一個畫面就打開了三種用法。把血從皮膚拿走，就是嘴唇和臉變得慘白。把血從一件大事拿走，就是政權換手卻沒有人受傷。把血從一篇文章或一場演出裡拿走，就是每個地方都正確、卻完全沒有生命的那種東西。From the word’s history
From Middle English blodles, from Old English blodleas; by surface analysis blood plus -less, the ending English uses for 'without' (hopeless, useless). The word has meant 'without blood' from the start, and all three modern uses are that literal build applied to a body, an event, and a piece of work.
從古英文 blōdlēas 來，中古英文寫成 blodles；拆開看就是 blood（血）加上 -less（沒有…的），跟 hopeless、useless 是同一個字尾。也就是說，這個字從一開始就是「沒有血」，字面沒有變過。今天的三個意思，都是把這個字面分別放到身體上、事件上、作品上而已。荷蘭語 bloedeloos、德語 blutlos、瑞典語 blodlös 的組成方式也一樣。
Wiktionary via local kaikki extract, source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1248935635 — "From Middle English blodles, from Old English blōdlēas… By surface analysis, blood + -less."
Three branches
事情發生時沒有流血
把「沒有血」從身體移到事件上。一件本來很可能造成傷亡的大事發生了，結果一滴血都沒流——重點不在事情小，而在它出乎意料地平和。
adjective · B2
Happening without anyone being killed or hurt — used especially about a change of power or a takeover that people expected to be violent.
不流血的；沒有傷亡的
裡面沒有熱度
再往前一步，從身體借到作品和態度上。血代表溫熱和生命，抽掉之後，東西的形狀完好，裡面卻是冷的。來源把這一層標為比喻用法。
adjective · C1
Showing no warmth or strong feeling; a bloodless person, voice, or piece of work is correct and cold, with no life in it.
冷冰冰的；沒有感情的