COLOUR IDIOMS
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/
GREEN
green as grass
very green
His face turned as green as grass just before he vomited.
green with envy
appearing jealous; appearing envious
My new car made my neighbour green with envy.
Bill was green with envy that I won first place.
A hedge between keeps friendship green
Your friendship will flourish if you and your friend respect each other's privacy
Lynne and I are the best of friends, but we often like to spend time apart. A hedge between keeps friendship green.
green stuff
money; U.S. paper money
I've run out of green stuff. Can you loan me a few bucks?
have a green thumb/have green fingers
to have the ability to grow plants well
Just look at Mr. Simpson's garden. He has a green thumb.
My mother has a green thumb when it comes to houseplants.
give somebody/something the green light
to give permission for someone to do something or for something to happen
They've just been given the green light to build two new supermarkets in the region. The local prefect has given the green light
to the dam at Serre de la Fare.
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RED
see red
to be angry
Whenever I think of the needless destruction of trees, I see red.
Bill really saw red when the tax bill arrived.
in the red
experiencing the situation of spending more money than you earned
Tourism is down and many hotels are operating in the red.
The phone company found itself about $1.8 billion in the red.
Opposite of: in the black
be like a red rag to a bull
if a statement or an action is like a red rag to a bull, it makes someone very angry
Usage notes: Some people believe that bulls become very angry when they see the colour red.
For Claire, the suggestion of a women-only committee was like a red rag to a bull.
a red herring
something that takes people's attention away from the main subject being talked or written about
About halfway through the book it looked as though the butler was the murderer, but that turned out to be a red herring.
catch someone red-handed/caught red-handed
to catch a person in the act of doing something wrong
Tom was stealing the car when the police drove by and caught him red-handed.
Mary tried to cash a forged check at the bank, and the teller caught her red-handed.
give someone a red face
to make someone visibly embarrassed
We really gave him a red face when we caught him eavesdropping. His error gave him a very red face.
red-letter day
an important or significant day (From the practice of printing holidays in red on the calendar.)
Today was a red-letter day in our history. It was a red-letter day for our club.
paint the town red
to go out and enjoy yourself in the evening, often drinking a lot of alcohol and dancing
Jack finished his exams today so he's gone out to paint the town red.
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BLUE
a bolt from the blue/a bolt out of the blue
something that you do not expect to happen and that surprises you very much
The news that they had got married was a bolt from the blue. He seemed to be very happy in his job, so his resignation came as
a bolt out of the blue.
once in a blue moon
very seldom, rarely, almost never
Jill: Does your husband ever bring you flowers? Ellen: Once in a blue moon.
Once in a blue moon, I buy a fashion magazine, just to see what people are wearing.
black and blue
if a person or part of their body is black and blue, their skin is covered with bruises (= black marks caused
by being hit)
He was beaten black and blue at boarding school.
(until you are) blue in the face
for a long time
The attorneys can talk until they're blue in the face, but I don't think they'll convince the jury that this guy is innocent.
You can argue yourself blue in the face but it isn't going to change my opinion.
come out of a clear blue sky/come out of the clear blue sky/come out of the blue
suddenly; without warning
Then, out of a clear blue sky, he told me he was leaving.
My sister Mary appeared on my doorstep out of the blue, after years with no word from her.
feel blue
to feel sad
the boys in blue
the police
The boys in blue were round again last night, asking questions.
blue blood
the blood [heredity] of a noble family; aristocratic ancestry
The earl refuses to allow anyone who is not of blue blood to marry his son.
Although Mary's family is poor, she has blue blood in her veins.
between the devil and the deep blue sea
if you are between the devil and the deep blue sea, you must choose between two equally unpleasant
situations For most people a visit to the dentist is the result of a choice between the devil and the deep
blue sea - if you go you suffer, and if you don't go you suffer.
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SILVER
on a silver platter
without work or effort
The Internet provides huge quantities of information on a silver platter, but you don't know if it's accurate or true.
born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
born into wealth and privilege
James doesn't know anything about working for a living; he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Most of the students at the exclusive private college were born with silver spoons in their mouths.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
You can derive some benefit from every bad thing that happens to you. (You can also refer to the silver
lining of a particular cloud, the benefit you can derive from a particular misfortune.) I'm sorry your business
is going badly, but don't despair. Every cloud has a silver lining.
When Mary's friends visited her in the hospital, they tried to cheer her up, but Mary never could find the silver lining in the
cloud of her illness.
silver-tongued (literary)
a silver-tongued person speaks to someone in a pleasant way and praises them in order to persuade them
to do what they want (always before noun)
He was a silver-tongued orator who convinced many people to support him.
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GOLD
good as gold
very good (Usually used to describe children)
Mother: Thank you for taking care of Gretchen; I hope she hasn't been too much trouble. Grandmother: Not at all; she's been
as good as gold.
We knew that Daddy would not read us a bedtime story unless we behaved, so we tried to be good as gold.
gold mine of information
someone or something that is full of information
Grandfather is a gold mine of information about World War I.
The new encyclopaedia is a positive gold mine of useful information.
All that glitters is not gold
Just because something looks attractive does not mean it is genuine or valuable (Often said as a
warning.)
Hollywood may look like an exciting place to live, but I don't think you should move there. All that glitters is not gold.
I know Susie is popular and pretty, but don't be fooled by that. All that glitters is not gold.
have a heart of gold
to be generous, sincere, and friendly
Mary is such a lovely person. She has a heart of gold.
You think Tom stole your watch? Impossible! He has a heart of gold.
sitting on a gold mine
in control of something very valuable; in control of something potentially very valuable
When I found out how much the old book was worth, I realized that I was sitting on a gold mine. Mary's land is valuable. She
is sitting on a gold mine.
worth its weight in gold
very valuable
This book is worth its weight in gold. Oh, Bill. You're wonderful. You're worth your weight in gold.
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WHITE
in black and white
[of an agreement, contract, or statement] official, in writing or printing
I have it in black and white that I'm entitled to three weeks of vacation each year.
white as a sheet/white as a ghost/white as snow
[of someone] extremely pale, as if frightened.
Marilyn turned as white as a sheet when the policeman told her that her son had been in a car wreck. Did something scare
you? You're white as a sheet! Jane made up the bed with her best linen sheets, which are always as white as snow. We have a
new kitten whose fur is white as the driven snow.
(little) white lie
a small, usually harmless lie; a fib.
Every little white lie you tell is still a lie and it is still meant to mislead people.
white knuckle
causing or experiencing fear or anxiety
a white-knuckle ride
black and white
if you think facts or situations are black and white, you have a simple and very certain opinion about
them, often when other people think they are really more complicated
The issue of nuclear weapons isn't as black and white as it used to be.
white trash (American very informal)
an offensive way of describing poor white people who are not educated
These are the poor white trash that the middle class don't want to know about.
white-collar
a white-collar worker is someone who works in an office, doing mental rather than physical work
(always before noun)
The ratio of white-collar workers to production workers in the American manufacturing industry was declining.
The earnings of women in white-collar jobs are the second highest in Britain.
(compare blue collar - of the lower class or working class; of a job or a worker, having to do with manual
labour. Alludes to the typical colour of work shirts worn by mechanics, labourers, etc.)
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