Color Idioms Part 5 - red

Today, we'll continue our series about color idioms with the color RED.

Red is the color of embarrassment, anger and losing money.

He's red in the face.

She became red-faced.

Meaning they were embarrassed - their face got flushed and turned red.

To see red means you are really angry~!

When I saw her with another man I saw red~!

When talking about losing money we talk about red ink.

That companies bleeding red...

..meaning losing lots of money, they're dying. Red is also associated with blood.

That company's in the red.

After going bankrupt in 2010, JAL is finally out of the red.

Out of the red means you're no longer losing money.

A few more interesting idioms are:

It's a red herring.

Meaning it is something that draws attention away from the main topic. It is tricking you to focus on the WRONG thing.

I caught him red-handed.

It is similar to "I caught him with his hand in the cookie jar". It means you are caught in the act of doing something wrong or illegal.

Have a good week~!

Phil

Color Idioms Part 4 - blue

Today we're going to continue our color idioms series by talking about the color:

BLUE

This color is usually associated with depression.

You look blue. What's wrong?

I feel blue.

I got the blues.

So as you can see, it means to feel sad. This idiom even gave it's name to the popular American musical style called THE BLUES where people sing about what is making them sad.

Here's a video of a blues song:




Other expressions, that use blue include:

A blue blood meaning a member of the nobility or upper class.

His family are blue bloods. They've been rich forever.

Blue collar means working in manufacturing. This is because people who worked on the assembly line usually wore blue jumpsuits and people who worked in the office usually wore white shirts.

So office work = a white-collar job and factory work = a blue-collar job.

I don't want to work a blue-collar job, it's too tough!

Blue can also mean the sky, which gives us idioms like "out of the blue" or "like a bolt out of the blue". This means that something was a complete surprise/very unexpected just like a lightning bolt happening when the sky is clear blue~!

When he proposed it came like a bolt out of the blue!

Any questions?

Phil

Color Idioms Part 3 - yellow

Yellow doesn't actually have many meanings in English. It basically means that you are a coward (臆病者 - おくびょうもの) or that you lack bravery or courage (あの人は勇気がない)...

The following expressions are all a bit old fashioned and the image I get in my mind is of a cowboy yelling them in a thick accent...

Are ya yellow?

meaning

Are you a coward?

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You yellow-bellied ass~! Go on and run!

meaning

You cowardly jerk~! Go on and run, I'll take care of it myself!

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Tom, he's got a yellow streak a mile long down his back...

meaning

Tom is a big coward he's not brave at all.

These days guys will usually say:

Are you (a) chicken?

Are you (a) pussy? (pretty vulgar)

Any questions?

Phil

Color Idioms Part 2

Hey everyone, I remembered a few more idioms using green:

to be green

Recently, it also means to be environmentally friendly. In Japanese, you would say ECO.

A: What are you doing with those old newspapers?

B: I'm gonna recycle them. I'm trying to be green these days.

green

It can be used to refer to money, in the US all dollar bills are green so they are sometimes called greenbacks.

I'm gonna make me some green.

Show me the green~!

But this is only used in the US and is quite casual slang.

Today we will look at the color:

PINK

There are two pink idioms that are quite common:

To be tickled pink

This means to be really pleased or happy with something.

C: Wow, you look tickled pink~!

D: Yeah, I'm super happy - John proposed!!!

C: Congratulations!

To be in the pink

This means that something or someone is super healthy. I think it refers to a healthy newborn baby being pink.

After having a cold for a week, it's good to be in the pink again!

Another expression you might hear is: to get a pink slip.

This means you have been fired. When people were fired they used to get their last paycheck or a note on pink paper announcing that they lost their job.

Ed: What's wrong?

Frank: I got a pink slip today!

Any questions?

Phil

Color Idioms Part 1

Hey everyone, I've had a list of color idioms I've wanted to talk about for awhile now and I've decided to get started~! This will be a 2 or 3 part series I think. Today we will talk about the color:

GREEN

to be green as grass

This means something is very green.

His new car's green as grass.

to be green

This means to be a rookie, to be new at something and lack experience.

Andy: What's wrong with him?

Bill: Oh, he's really green. This is his first job.

It can also mean to be nauseous, sometimes with the verb to look green.

Ed: Tom looks green is he ok?

Sally: Yeah, he'll be fine. He just got off a roller-coaster.

to be green with envy

This means to be very jealous.

I'm green with envy! Jill got a new Chanel bag!

to have a green thumb

This is a really common idiom I think most students of English should know. It means you are good with plants and good at growing things.

Alex has a real green thumb. He grows all his own vegetables.

Have a nice day,

Phil