Color Idioms

(idioms-sayings.blogspot.com - English Idioms & Sayings) Color Idioms

as black as a skillet

- very black
My hands were as black as a skillet when I finished working on the car engine.

as black as a stack of black cats

- very black
The little boy was as black as a stack of black cats after playing outside all day.

as black as a sweep

- very dirty/black (a chimney sweep cleans chimneys and becomes very black)
My friend was as black as a sweep after he finished cleaning the basement.

as black as coal

- very black
My friend's cat is as black as coal.

as black as night

- very dark and black
The old house was as black as night when we entered it.

as black as pitch

- very black
My face was as black as pitch after cleaning the stove all morning.

as black as the ace of spades

- very black
The horse in the parade was as black as the ace of spades.

as red as a cherry

- bright red
The car was as red as a cherry after its new paint job.

as red as a poppy

- bright red
The mark on my arm was as red as a poppy.

as red as a rose

- intensely red
The morning sunrise was as red as a rose.

as red as a ruby

- deep red
The office assistant was wearing lipstick that was as red as a ruby.

as red as blood

- deep red
The stain on the carpet was as red as blood.

as white as a ghost

- very pale because of fear/shock/illness
My sister became as white as a ghost when she saw the man at the window.

as white as a sheet

- very pale
I felt terrible this morning and in the mirror I looked as white as a sheet.

as white as the driven snow

- very white
The fur on the dog was as white as the driven snow.

black and blue

- bruised
My shoulder was black and blue after I fell down the stairs.

black and white

- either good or bad, either one way or the other way but not in between
Our boss sees everything in black and white although he knows this is impossible.

black box

- an electronic device such as a flight recorder that can be removed from an aircraft as a single package
The investigators searched for a long time in order to find the black box of the airplane.

black eye

- a bruise near one's eye which makes it appear black
The man received a black eye when he bumped into the closed door.

black market

- the place where goods/money are illegally bought and sold
We sold some cigarettes on the black market during our travels.

black out

- to darken a room or building by turning off the lights
During the war people in the cities were forced to black out their windows so nobody could see them.

black out

- to lose consciousness
The man blacked out during the parade and he had to sit down and rest.

black sheep (of a family)

- a person who is a disgrace to a family or group
The man is the black sheep in his family and has not made a success of his life.

blackball (someone)

- to exclude/ostracize someone socially, to reject someone
The businessman was blackballed in the industry because of his bad business practices.

blacklist (someone)

- to exclude/ostracize someone, to write someone's name on a list if they break some rules
The sports federation blacklisted the swimmer because he was using steroids.

blackmail (someone)

- to extort/take money from someone by threatening him or her
The photographer tried to blackmail the famous actress with some photographs that he had taken.

blackout

- a temporary situation where you do not release some information
The government decided to have a blackout regarding the information related to the political prisoner.

black-tie event/affair

- a formal event where guests wear semi-formal clothes with men wearing black bow ties with tuxedos or dinner jackets
The award ceremony for the movie awards was a black-tie affair.

blue blood

- the blood of a noble/aristocratic family
Many of the blue bloods of the town went to the opening of the opera.

blue in the face

- to be very angry or upset, to be excited and very emotional
I argued with my supervisor until I was blue in the face.

blue-ribbon

- of superior quality or distinction, the best of a group
A blue-ribbon panel of experts were asked to suggest a new policy for the city.

brown bag it

- to take a lunch to work
I must brown bag it this week because the company cafeteria is closed.

carte blanche

- the freedom or permission to do what you want (blanche/blanc means white in French)
The new manager was given carte blanche to change the policies in her department.

catch (someone) red-handed

- to catch someone in the middle of doing something wrong
The woman was caught red-handed when she tried to steal some cosmetics.

chase rainbows

- to try to get or achieve something that is difficult or impossible
My old school friend is always chasing rainbows and he never achieves anything.

dyed-in-the-wool

- permanent, always (like wool that is dyed a certain color)
My father is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and he will probably never change.

ears are red

- one's ears are red from embarrassment
My ears were red after hearing what the teacher said about me.

get/have gray hair

- to have one's hair turn gray from stress
Our teacher is getting gray hair from all the stress.

get/have the blues

- to become sad or depressed
The dull cloudy weather has caused me to get the blues.

get/have the green light

- to receive a signal to start or continue something
We got the green light to begin a study of the security problems at our school.

give (someone) the green light

- to give someone permission to proceed with a project
We were given the green light to begin the new project.

grass is always greener on the other side

- a place that is far away or different seems better than where we are now
The man realized that the grass is greener on the other side when he saw that his new job had many problems too.

a gray area

- a question that is not clearly defined and may have a broad or more than one answer, neither black or white
The issue of the tax on children's toys was a gray area for the accountant.

gray matter

- brains, intelligence
I wish that my friend would use his gray matter more effectively when he is making his crazy plans.

green

- to be inexperienced or immature
The young man is rather green and does not have enough experience to drive the large piece of machinery.

green around the gills

- looking sick
My friend looked green around the gills after the long bus ride.

green belt

- an area of fields and trees around a town
Our city has a policy to increase the green belt around the city.

green-eyed monster

- jealousy
The woman was consumed by the green-eyed monster and it was affecting her life.

green thumb

- a talent for gardening, the ability to make things grow
My neighbor has a green thumb and she is able to grow one of the best gardens in our neighborhood.

green with envy

- to be very jealous, to be full of envy
I was green with envy when I heard that my cousin would be going to London for a week.

greenhorn

- an untrained/inexperienced/naive person
The young man was a greenhorn and he had much to learn about his new job.

have a yellow streak

- to be cowardly
The man has a yellow streak and he will not defend you if you are having a problem.

horse of a different color

- something totally separate and different
I know that our boss would like to discuss that issue now but it is a horse of a different color and we should discuss it at another time.

in black and white

- in writing, officially
I put down my complaint in black and white.

in (someone's) black books

- to be in disgrace or out of favor with someone
The boy is in his girlfriend's black books because he was late for their date.

in the black

- to be successful or profitable
Our company has been in the black since they began to cut costs.

in the pink (of condition)

- in very good health
My grandmother was in the pink of condition when I saw her.

in the red

- to be in debt, to be unprofitable
The company has been in the red for three years now.

lend color to (something)

- to provide something extra to accompany something
The music in the play helped to lend color to the performance of the actors.

like waving a red flag in front of a bull

- what you are doing will definitely make someone angry or upset
Talking about the city mayor with my father is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. He does not like the city mayor.

local color

- the traditional features of a place which give it its own character
The weekend vegetable market added much local color to the small town.

look at/see the world through rose-colored glasses

- to see only the good things about something, to be too optimistic
My friend always looks at the world through rose-colored glasses and he does not believe that some people are dishonest.

off-color

- in bad taste, rude
The man told an off-color joke at the party which made his wife very angry.

off-color

- not the exact color
We painted our kitchen in an off-color of white.

once in a blue moon

- very rarely
We only go out for Italian food once in a blue moon although we enjoy it very much.

out of the blue

- without any warning, by surprise (like coming out of a blue sky)
Out of the blue my friend decided to quit his job and go to Europe.

out of the red

- out of debt
Our company is finally out of the red and we are now making money.

paint the town red

- to go out and party and have a good time
When my cousin came to visit us we decided to go out and paint the town red.

pink slip

- a termination notice from a job
I received my pink slip last week and I am now looking for a new job.

pitch-black

- very black, as black as pitch
The road was pitch-black and we could not see anything.

pot calling the kettle black

- the person who criticizes/accuses someone else is as guilty as the person he or she criticizes/accuses
My friend criticized me for not changing jobs but that is like the pot calling the kettle black. She will not change jobs either.

put (something) down in black and white

- to write the details of a contract or something on paper
I asked the buyer to put the offer to buy my car down in black and white.

raise/wave a white flag

- to indicate that you have been defeated and you want to give up
The soldiers raised a white flag and gave themselves up to the enemy.

red-carpet treatment

- to receive special/royal treatment
I always receive the red-carpet treatment when I go and visit my aunt.

red-eye

- an airplane flight that leaves late at night and arrives early in the morning
We caught the red-eye flight last night and we are very tired today.

a red flag

- a signal that something is not working properly or correctly
The fallen trees along the road raised a red flag for the safety inspectors.

red herring

- an unimportant matter that draws attention away from the main subject
Talking about the other issue was a red herring and did not do anything to deal with today's problem.

red-hot

- very hot, creating much excitement or demand
The new video game is red-hot and many people are waiting to buy one.

red in the face

- embarrassed
I became red in the face when the teacher began talking about me.

red-letter day

- a day that is memorable because of some important event
It was a red-letter day when my sister received her graduation diploma.

red tape

- excessive formalities in official business
Many businesses complain about the red tape that they must deal with in order to get anything done with the government.

roll out the red carpet

- to greet a person with great respect, to give a big welcome to someone
The government rolled out the red carpet when the politician came to visit.

sail under false colors

- to pretend to be something that one is not (a pirate ship used to disguise itself as an ordinary ship by using a false flag)
The head of the company is sailing under false colors and he does not really know how the company operation works.

see pink elephants

- to see things which are not really there because they are only in your imagination
The man was seeing pink elephants according to those who listened to his story.

see red

- to become very angry
My boss saw red when I told him that I would not be coming to work today.

see the color of (someone's) money

- to prove that someone has enough money for something
The car dealer would not let me take the car until he saw the color of my money.

show one`s true colors

- to show what one is really like or really thinking
I thought that the woman likes me but she showed her true colors when she began yelling at me on the telephone.

talk a blue streak

- to talk very much and very rapidly
The woman beside me on the bus talked a blue streak for most of the journey.

talk until one is blue in the face

- to talk until one is exhausted
I talked until I was blue in the face but I could not change my teacher's mind about my essay.

tickled pink

- to be very pleased or delighted by someone or something
"My mother was tickled pink that you visited her when you were in town."

white elephant

- a useless possession (that often costs money to maintain)
The new airport is a white elephant and nobody wants to use it.

white lie

- a harmless or small lie told to be polite or to avoid hurting someone's feelings
I told my supervisor a white lie yesterday and said that I was sick when actually I was not.

white sale

- the selling of towels or sheets at a reduced price
We went to the white sale at the department store to buy some new sheets.

white-tie event/affair

- an event that requires guests to wear formal dress such as men wearing white bow ties with formal evening dress
I attended a white-tie dinner in honor of the president of our university.

whitewash (something)

- to cover up or gloss over faults/errors/wrongdoing
The government was accused of trying to whitewash the scandal about the illegal money.

with flying colors

- with great or total success
My friend passed the course with flying colors and she now wants to go out and celebrate.

yellow-bellied

- extremely timid, cowardly
The man is yellow-bellied and is never willing to fight for what is right.


Posted by Learning English through Idioms and Sayings