BloumagrieT
14-07-2008, 07:52 PM
Colours in Idioms
http://www.lakewoodconferences.com/direct/dbimage/50288676/24_Colors_Dough_Toys.jpg
Black and white
- thinking of everything or judging everything as
either good or bad
He tries to see everything in black and white
although he knows this is impossible.
.
.
.
black out
- darken by putting out or dimming electric lights
During the war people in the cities were forced to
black out their windows
so that the enemy aircraft could not see them.
.
.
.
black out
- prevent or silence information or communication
The government decided to black out all of the
information related to the political prisoner.
.
.
.
black out- lose
consciousness
Suddenly the man blacked out during the parade
and had to behelped to a quiet place.
.
.
.
black sheep (of the family)
- a person who is a disgrace to a family or group
The man is the black sheep in his family and is the
only member who has not made a success of his
life.
.
.
.
blue in the face
- very angry or upset, excited and very emotional
He argued with her until he was blue in the face.
.
.
.
brown bag it
- take a lunch to work
I have had to brown bag it every day this week
as the company cafeteria is closed for repair work.
.
.
.
catch (someone) red-handed
- catch someone in the middle of doing something
wrong
The woman was caught red-handed at the store
trying to steal some cosmetics.
.
.
.
give someone the green light
- give permission to go ahead with a project
We were finally given the green light to begin
setting up 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
He realized that the grass is always greener on
the other side
when he saw that his new job wasn't perfect and
had its own problems too.
.
.
.
green
- inexperienced, immature
He is rather green and doesn't have enough
experience
to drive the large piece of machinery yet.
.
.
.
green belt
- an area of fields and trees around a town
The city has a policy of increasing the green belt
around the city.
.
.
.
green thumb
- a talent for gardening, ability to make things grow
She has a green thumb and is able to grow one of
the best gardens
in our neighborhood.
.
.
.
green with envy
- very jealous, full of envy
I was green with envy when I heard that
she would be going to London for a week while I
had to stay and work.
.
.
.
horse of a different color
- something totally separate and different
I know that he 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 the black
- successful or profitable
The company has been in the black since they
began to adopt
many new ideas to cut costs.
.
.
.
in the red
- lose money, unprofitable
The company has been in the red for three years
now
-
ever since their exports to Asia decreased by 35
per cent.
.
.
.
look at/see the world through rose-colored glasses
- see only the good things about something, be
too optimistic
He always looks at the world through rose
-colored glasses
and is never able to understand that some
people are dishonest.
.
.
.
off-color
- in bad taste, rude, dirty
He told an off-color joke at the party that made
his wife very angry.
.
.
.
once in a blue moon
- rarely
We 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
I don't understand what the problem is. Right out
of the blue
he decided to quit his job and go and live in
Europe.
.
.
.
paint the town red
- 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
- termination notice from a job
I received my pink slip last week and am now
looking
for a new job.
.
.
.
pot calling the kettle black
- the person who is criticizing/accusing
someone else
is as guilty as the person he criticizes/accuses
She was criticizing me for not looking for a new
job but
that is like the pot calling the kettle black. She
isn't looking for a new job either.
.
.
.
red herring
- an unimportant matter that draws attention
away
from the main subject
Suddenly talking about the strike was a red
herring
and didn't do anything to deal with today's
problems.
.
.
.
red-letter day
- a day that is memorable because of some
important event
It was a red-letter day when she finally received
her graduation diploma.
.
.
.
red tape
- excessive formalities in official business
Many businesses have been complaining about
the amount of red tape that they must deal with
in order to
get anything done with the government.
.
.
.
roll out the red carpet
- greet a person with great respect, give a big
welcome
When the President of Egypt visited Paris, they
rolled out
the red carpet and gave him a great welcome.
.
.
.
see red
- become very angry
He really saw red last night
when I told him that
I wouldn't be coming to work today.
.
.
.
show one's true colors
- show what one is really like
I know that she doesn't like me but she was
showing her
true colors when she began yelling at me on the
telephone.
.
.
.
tickled pink
- be very pleased, thrill, delight
She was tickled pink that you made the effort to
go and
visit her when you were in town.
.
.
.
white elephant
- a useless possession/undertaking
The new airport is a white elephant and nobody
likes it at all.
.
.
.
white as a ghost
- very pale because of fear, shock, illness
My sister became white as a ghost when she
saw the man at the window.
.
.
.
white lie
- a harmless lie (told to be polite or to do
something not seriously wrong
I told my boss a white lie and said that I was sick
yesterday
when actually I was not.
.
.
.
white sale
- the selling at a reduced price of towels or
sheets etc.
We went to the white sale at the department store
to buy some new sheets before my parents
come to visit.
.
.
.
with flying colors
- with great or total success
She passed the course with flying colors and
now wants to go out and celebrate.
.
.
.
yellow-bellied
- extremely timid, cowardly
He is a yellow-bellied coward and never is willing
to fight for what is right.
.
.
.
yellow streak
- cowardice in one's character
He has a yellow streak running down his back
and is not a good person
to support you if things become difficult.
'' copied ''
.
.
.
.
.
^.^
http://www.lakewoodconferences.com/direct/dbimage/50288676/24_Colors_Dough_Toys.jpg
Black and white
- thinking of everything or judging everything as
either good or bad
He tries to see everything in black and white
although he knows this is impossible.
.
.
.
black out
- darken by putting out or dimming electric lights
During the war people in the cities were forced to
black out their windows
so that the enemy aircraft could not see them.
.
.
.
black out
- prevent or silence information or communication
The government decided to black out all of the
information related to the political prisoner.
.
.
.
black out- lose
consciousness
Suddenly the man blacked out during the parade
and had to behelped to a quiet place.
.
.
.
black sheep (of the family)
- a person who is a disgrace to a family or group
The man is the black sheep in his family and is the
only member who has not made a success of his
life.
.
.
.
blue in the face
- very angry or upset, excited and very emotional
He argued with her until he was blue in the face.
.
.
.
brown bag it
- take a lunch to work
I have had to brown bag it every day this week
as the company cafeteria is closed for repair work.
.
.
.
catch (someone) red-handed
- catch someone in the middle of doing something
wrong
The woman was caught red-handed at the store
trying to steal some cosmetics.
.
.
.
give someone the green light
- give permission to go ahead with a project
We were finally given the green light to begin
setting up 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
He realized that the grass is always greener on
the other side
when he saw that his new job wasn't perfect and
had its own problems too.
.
.
.
green
- inexperienced, immature
He is rather green and doesn't have enough
experience
to drive the large piece of machinery yet.
.
.
.
green belt
- an area of fields and trees around a town
The city has a policy of increasing the green belt
around the city.
.
.
.
green thumb
- a talent for gardening, ability to make things grow
She has a green thumb and is able to grow one of
the best gardens
in our neighborhood.
.
.
.
green with envy
- very jealous, full of envy
I was green with envy when I heard that
she would be going to London for a week while I
had to stay and work.
.
.
.
horse of a different color
- something totally separate and different
I know that he 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 the black
- successful or profitable
The company has been in the black since they
began to adopt
many new ideas to cut costs.
.
.
.
in the red
- lose money, unprofitable
The company has been in the red for three years
now
-
ever since their exports to Asia decreased by 35
per cent.
.
.
.
look at/see the world through rose-colored glasses
- see only the good things about something, be
too optimistic
He always looks at the world through rose
-colored glasses
and is never able to understand that some
people are dishonest.
.
.
.
off-color
- in bad taste, rude, dirty
He told an off-color joke at the party that made
his wife very angry.
.
.
.
once in a blue moon
- rarely
We 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
I don't understand what the problem is. Right out
of the blue
he decided to quit his job and go and live in
Europe.
.
.
.
paint the town red
- 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
- termination notice from a job
I received my pink slip last week and am now
looking
for a new job.
.
.
.
pot calling the kettle black
- the person who is criticizing/accusing
someone else
is as guilty as the person he criticizes/accuses
She was criticizing me for not looking for a new
job but
that is like the pot calling the kettle black. She
isn't looking for a new job either.
.
.
.
red herring
- an unimportant matter that draws attention
away
from the main subject
Suddenly talking about the strike was a red
herring
and didn't do anything to deal with today's
problems.
.
.
.
red-letter day
- a day that is memorable because of some
important event
It was a red-letter day when she finally received
her graduation diploma.
.
.
.
red tape
- excessive formalities in official business
Many businesses have been complaining about
the amount of red tape that they must deal with
in order to
get anything done with the government.
.
.
.
roll out the red carpet
- greet a person with great respect, give a big
welcome
When the President of Egypt visited Paris, they
rolled out
the red carpet and gave him a great welcome.
.
.
.
see red
- become very angry
He really saw red last night
when I told him that
I wouldn't be coming to work today.
.
.
.
show one's true colors
- show what one is really like
I know that she doesn't like me but she was
showing her
true colors when she began yelling at me on the
telephone.
.
.
.
tickled pink
- be very pleased, thrill, delight
She was tickled pink that you made the effort to
go and
visit her when you were in town.
.
.
.
white elephant
- a useless possession/undertaking
The new airport is a white elephant and nobody
likes it at all.
.
.
.
white as a ghost
- very pale because of fear, shock, illness
My sister became white as a ghost when she
saw the man at the window.
.
.
.
white lie
- a harmless lie (told to be polite or to do
something not seriously wrong
I told my boss a white lie and said that I was sick
yesterday
when actually I was not.
.
.
.
white sale
- the selling at a reduced price of towels or
sheets etc.
We went to the white sale at the department store
to buy some new sheets before my parents
come to visit.
.
.
.
with flying colors
- with great or total success
She passed the course with flying colors and
now wants to go out and celebrate.
.
.
.
yellow-bellied
- extremely timid, cowardly
He is a yellow-bellied coward and never is willing
to fight for what is right.
.
.
.
yellow streak
- cowardice in one's character
He has a yellow streak running down his back
and is not a good person
to support you if things become difficult.
'' copied ''
.
.
.
.
.
^.^