The document provides examples of 16 common English color idioms and their meanings: 1. golden opportunity - a very good chance for success or progress 2. black out - lose consciousness 3. see the document for definitions of 13 additional common English color idioms.

1. COLOUR IDIOMS
golden opportunity black out the green light to feel blue
once in a blue moon white lies see pink elephants blue in the face
in the pink of health out of the blue black and white true colours
to be green show the white flag green with envy silver lining
A) Read the examples below and try to infer the meaning of the idioms from context. Then
write an appropriate definition for each one.
1. The models' conference was a golden opportunity for me to sell my beauty products.
2. I usually black out at the sight of blood.
3. We were given the green light for the project. We can finally start working.
4. I always feel blue during the winter… I find everything rather depressing.
5. We only go out for dinner once in a blue moon.
6. We told grandma the cake was delicious, which was actually a white lie.
7. The man was seeing pink elephants according to those who listened to his story.
8. I told him he was making a mistake until I was blue in the face, but he just wouldn’t
listen.
9. He recovered completely from his surgery and has been in the pink ever since.
10. My brother appeared out of the blue yesterday… We hadn’t seen him for ages.
11. "It's an obligation! It's written in black and white in your contract.”
12. People often show their true colours when they have too much to drink.
13. He is rather green and doesn’t have enough experience to drive the large piece of
machinery yet.
14. Our opponents held all the cards tonight, so we showed the white flag and left early.
15. I was green with envy when I heard that she would be going to London for a month
while I had to stay and work.
16. "This really is a tough situation. Do you think things will work out for the best?" Reply:
"I'm sure they will. Every cloud has a silver lining."
1. golden opportunity: ______________________________________________________
2. to black out _____________________________________________________________
3. green light _____________________________________________________________
4. to feel blue ____________________________________________________________
5. once in a blue moon ______________________________________________________
6. white lies_______________________________________________________________
7. to see pink elephants _____________________________________________________
8. blue in the face __________________________________________________________
9. in the pink of health ______________________________________________________
10. out of the blue __________________________________________________________
11. black and white _________________________________________________________

2. 12. true colours ____________________________________________________________
13. to be green _____________________________________________________________
14. the white flag ___________________________________________________________
15. green with envy _________________________________________________________
16. silver lining _____________________________________________________________
B) Now read the short story and fill in the gaps with the appropriate colour idioms. Then try
to point out the meaning of the colour idioms in bold.
A Silver Lining
In a rash moment I said I'd buy my wife a car for her birthday. The trouble was she had set her heart on
a particular colour — white. It had to be white at all costs. I pointed out till I was
(1)___________________ that white was a very difficult colour to keep clean.
But she was adamant and so in the end I decided to (2) ________________. We looked at dozens of
white and off white cars but none seemed to be worth buying.
Now, I'm a bit (3) ____________ about buying cars. I'm the perfect customer as far as the secondhand
car salesman is concerned. Take the first place we went to. The manager started by showing me the
most expensive models he could find, some of which made me turn (4)_________________ of anyone
who could afford to buy one.
(5)_________________ I thought you come across a genuine bargain. I mean some of the dealers are
thoroughly dishonest or is it that they are simply telling (6) _______________? The trouble is you have
to buy a car in order to find out. The only way to deal with these salesmen is to put on a bold face. It
doesn't matter if you are a coward. You don't have to accept the first price and whatever you do don't
give the (7) _______________ to continue with the sale until you're absolutely satisfied.
One weekend I decided to leave my car at home and go by train to a large car centre. I was feeling (8)
_____________ as we approached the man standing by the sales office. He had one of those arrogant
expressions I told him straight that I knew his centre had been black listed by motoring organizations
and that wiped the arrogant expression off his face. The only trouble was that I discovered that I'd not
been talking to the sales manager but a fellow customer. In my confusion I tripped over a spare tyre,
rolled over and ended up in a ditch. When I got home I was black and blue all over.
By the sixth weekend of looking I was understandably feeling rather (9) ______________. I'd even
considered getting a car through the black market.
But every cloud has a (10) __________________. And that Sunday was a special day to remember, since
we finally found a car. We were out driving in the countryside when (11)_________________we saw a
notice advertising cars for sale in a farm yard.
We saw a man sitting in a small hut. He was the salesman from whom I eventually bought the car. He
quickly dispensed with all the formalities and very soon I had it in (12) _________________ that the car
belonged to me. It's quite a good car and it's white!
Source: www.english.net
(slightly adapted)