to put to the blush

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

1.A suffusion of the cheeks or face with red, as from a sense of shame, confusion, or modesty. [1913 Webster]

The rosy blush of love.— Trumbull.[1913 Webster]

2.A red or reddish color; a rosy tint. [1913 Webster]

Light's last blushes tinged the distant hills.— Lyttleton.[1913 Webster]

At first blush, or At the first blush, at the first appearance or view. "At the first blush, we thought they had been ships come from France." --Hakluyt.

Note: This phrase is used now more of ideas, opinions, etc., than of material things. "All purely identical propositions, obviously, and at first blush, appear," etc. --Locke.

To put to the blush, to cause to blush with shame; to put to shame. [1913 Webster]