Color-related idioms and words

1. Compiled by Phung Thanh Thom
Colors: I’m Feeling Very Blue Today
Many American expressions are based on colors.
Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American
expressions are based on colors.
Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something
unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in
many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with
many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.
Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The
expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It probably comes from the
fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.
Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues
is slow, sad and soulful. Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo – about the
deep blue color, indigo. In the words of the song: “You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo.”
Someone who is blue is very sad.
The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a
sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from
high waves may look very green.
Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new
car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more
dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper
money.
The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as
a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one
time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular
organizations.
In some cases, colors describe a situation. A brownout is an expression for a reduction in electric power.
Brown outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity. The electric system is unable to offer all
the power needed in an area. Blackouts were common during World War Two. Officials would order all
lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.
Source: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/words-and-their-stories-colorful-expressions/1595461.html
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2. Compiled by Phung Thanh Thom
Words and their Definitions
Note: The definitions and examples given below are adapted from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary - 8th Edition, the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary - 3rd Edition, the Macmillan
English Dictionary - 2nd Edition, the Collins COBUILD Dictionary on CD-ROM 2006, the Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English - 5th Edition and several newspapers online.
1) red hot (adj.): (informal)
a) showing strong feeling
 her red-hot angry
b) extremely hot
 Be careful with those plates – they’re red-hot.
 The stove is red-hot, so don’t touch it.
c) Red-hot is used to describe a person or thing that is very popular, especially someone who is very good at
what they do or something that is new and exciting. (Journalism)
 Some traders are already stacking the red-hot book on their shelves.
 a red-hot news story
 a new red-hot American boy band
 The Braves have been red-hot in the last few games.
 The film has some red-hot love scenes.
2) in the pink (idm.): (old-fashioned, informal) in very good health
 Your health thrives, and the weather can put you in the pink of condition. (sacbee.com)
 It is uncertain whether Mr Ben Ali, 73 and not in the pink of health, will run yet again in 2014.
(economist.com)
3) blues /bluːz/ (n.): (often the blues) [U] a type of slow, sad music, originally from the southern US, in
which the singer typically sings about their difficult life or bad luck in love
 Billie Holiday was famous for singing the blues.
 a famous blues singer/band
4) blue /bluː/ (adj.): very sad
= depressed /dɪˈprest/ (adj.) = down /daʊn/ (adj.) [not before noun] (informal)
 He’d been feeling blue all weak.
 She usually calls her mother when she’s feeling blue.
 There’s no earthly reason for me to feel so blue.
 He’s been a bit blue since he failed his exams.
 She felt very depressed about the future.
5) green (adj.): (of a person or their skin) (informal) looking pale and unhealthy because you are ill
 George looked a bit green the next morning.
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3. Compiled by Phung Thanh Thom
 look green about/around the gills (= look pale and ill)
 It was a rough crossing and most of the passengers looked distinctly green.
6) be green with envy (idm.): very jealous
 Ben’s heading off to Spain for the week, and I’m green with envy.
 Your friend may have everything you think you want, but if you are green with envy, your friend will
sense something’s out of sync in your relationship. (au.news.yahoo.com)
 My former partner’s mother was green with envy at the opportunities for education, career and lifestyle
which she felt she had not had but my former partner had. (guardian.co.uk)
 Still acknowledged as one of the most vibrant architects working today, Piano, the son of a builder, has
enough projects under construction or newly opened to make younger architects green with envy. (time.com)
7) greenback /ˈɡriːnbæk/ (n.): [C] (NAmE, old-fashioned, slang, informal) an American dollar note
 The greenback has soared 19% against a basket of major currencies since July 15. (investors.com)
 In Asia, the Hong Kong dollar is tied to the greenback, so prices remain stable. (washingtonpost.com)
 The greenback is very popular in countries where the local currency is unstable. (orlandosentinel.com)
8) a black day (n.): a day in which everything goes wrong
 So is it really a black day, or is it just going back to the old system that worked better? (guardian.co.uk)
 We’ve had some great days this season but yesterday was a black day. (edp24.co.uk)
9) blacklist /ˈblæklɪst/ (n.): [C] a list of the names of people, companies, products or countries that an
organization or a government considers unacceptable and that must be avoided
 Any client who doesn’t pay on time goes on our blacklist.
 Friends of the Earth have produced a blacklist of environmentally damaging products.
 Late last year, Washington removed Vietnam from the religious-freedom blacklist. (time.com)
 He uses a blacklist feature to block out anyone who gets on his nerves too much. (cnn.com)
 But traveling there is difficult, she says, because she’s on the government blacklist. (npr.org)
10) brownout /ˈbraʊnaʊt/ (n.): [C] (especially NAmE) a period of time when the electricity supply is not
strong enough to supply all the power that is needed
 The cafe was without lights because of a brownout.
 Maryland faces potential brownouts within five years unless it builds new power plants.
Compare: blackout /ˈblækaʊt/ (n.): [C] a period of darkness caused by a failure of the electricity supply
= power cut /ˈpaʊər kʌt/ (BrE) (NAmE power outrage /ˈpaʊər aʊtɪdʒ/ ) (n.)
 There were blackouts throughout California.
11) blackout /ˈblækaʊt/ (n.): [usually singular] (especially BrE) a period of time during a war when all
lights must be put out or covered at night, so that they cannot be seen by an enemy attacking by air
 It used to take hours to travel home in the blackout.
 … blackout curtains.
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